Claire Wilcox
Azzedine Alaïa was born in southern Tunisia in about 1940 to a farming family descended from Spanish Arabic stock. At the age of fifteen, he enrolled at l’École des beaux-arts de Tunis to study sculpture. However, his interest in form soon diverted him toward fashion. Whether applied to his haute couture, tailoring, or ready-to-wear lines, Alaïa’s work is typified by precision and control; he became best known for his svelte, clinging garments that fit like a second skin. Read full entry here.
