Alaïa and Grès couture united in Paris exhibition

The Fondazione Azzedine Alaïa in Paris's Marais district presents "Alaïa / Grès, au-delà de la mode," a comparative exhibition curated by Olivier Saillard. Running until February 11, 2024, it brings together sixty creations by Madame Grès (Germaine Émilie Krebs, 1903–1993) and Azzedine Alaïa (1935–2017), two couturiers who shared a passion for sculpture and the female form. Grès, who opened her first atelier Maison Alix on rue Saint-Honoré in the 1930s, dressed icons like Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Grace Kelly, mastering draping techniques that evoked ancient art. Alaïa, trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Tunis before moving to Paris in 1956, counted Louise de Vilmorin, Arletty, Simone Zehrfuss, and Cécile de Rothschild among his clients, and launched models Naomi Campbell, Farida Khelfa, and Stephanie Seymour. The exhibition is organized by color—red, black, white—and material, within a white-box setting. A subtle "fil noir" frames the garments, which are displayed on Daniel Cendron's "invisible" mannequins that lack limbs, allowing the clothes to take center stage. The show highlights the designers' shared love for architecture and sculpture, offering a dynamic dialogue without declaring direct influence. It coincides with the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute exhibition "Women Dressing Women."