Azzedine Alaïa Returns To Couture for the First Time in Six Years

He’s back! The designer will present his autumn 2017 show at his Rue de Moussy atelier in Paris next week

A couture show is a rare and sporadic occurrence for the Tunisian-born designer, but after a six year hiatus, Azzedine Alaïa will present his autumn 2017 show in Paris next week, WWD reports. The show is scheduled to take place on July 5, and will be attended by an intimately crowd at his Rue de Moussy atelier, in an evening slot between the Valentino and Fendi shows.

Rihanna wears Azzedine Alaïa couture at the 55th Grammy Awards

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Known for shunning the traditional show schedule in favour of off-calendar events, Alaïa has never been a slave to the sartorial rhythm, with his last couture show dating back to 2011, where Kanye West and Donatella Versace sat front row. Prior to that, he hadn’t present a couture show for eight years.

The couturier shifted to presenting ready to wear in 1981, before his sister’s death in the mid ‘90s, where he subsequently disappeared from the fashion industry and stopped showing on a regular schedule altogether.

Rula Jebreal and Azzedine Alaïa at Venice Film Festival

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Although Alaïa has two stand-alone stores in Paris, and is stocked at a variety of retailers from Galeries Lafayette to Selfridges, the designer’s couture line is sold exclusively at his Rue de Moussy store in Paris.