Azzedine Alaïa, Thierry Mugler: Two Decades of Artistic Affinities

Contemporaries, collaborators and friends, Azzedine Alaïa and Thierry Mugler influenced each other's designs in terms of form, fluidity and abstraction

Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaïa (1935-2017) first met French couturier Thierry Mugler (1948-2022) in 1979, forming both a creative dialogue and personal friendship that would last until their deaths. Both divinized the woman, proclaiming the return of glamour with Hollywood as their inspiration. They shared a common silhouette where majestic shoulders contrasted with choked waists and blossoming hips, co-authoring the new stylistic language of the 1980s. If Mugler had a flair for showmanship, Alaïa had a taste for intimacy and perfection. Their daywear and evening wear echoed each other, dictating a four-handed fashion style that was the hallmark of contemporary fashions. In this curated selection, the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa presents 35 Thierry Mugler designs alongside 35 of Azzedine Alaïa's own creations, tracing the simultaneous evolution of their careers and the notions of line, silhouette and shape that they freely exchanged with one another.