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Azzedine Alaïa

Woman's top

Maker

Azzedine Alaïa (1935 - 2017), designer

Title

Woman's top

Year

ca. 2005

Medium

  • Cotton plain weave with knit trim

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Cotton plain weave with knit trim

Materials

cotton

Dimensions

45.1 cm (17 3/4 inches) (center back length)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Label: Alaia / Paris

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Paula Granoff

Object Number

2009.45.7

Type

  • Costume

Exhibition History

It Comes in Many Forms
Islamic Art from the Collection
Oct 23, 2020 – Dec 18, 2021

Label copy

This top falls gently off the shoulders, its knit bottom clinging tightly at the waist. A keyhole slit at the breastbone and another textured hole at the reverse invite peeks at normally hidden skin.

Trained as a sculptor, Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaïa dominated Parisian couture by clothing the female form with an architectural, anti-establishment approach. Celebrated as the “king of cling,” he showed that culture, comfort, modesty, and style can coexist. Alaïa brought sensitive care to how he worked with models, successfully altering the way Arab Muslim designers interact with the female body.

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Azzedine Alaïa (1935 - 2017), designer
Woman's top, ca. 2005
Cotton plain weave with knit trim
45.1 cm (17 3/4 inches) (center back length)
Gift of Paula Granoff 2009.45.7

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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