Azzedine Alaïa creates anniversary capsule collection for Barneys

By

Emily Jensen

Published
Jul 25, 2017

To celebrate their 35-year partnership, Azzedine Alaïa and Barneys New York have created an exclusive capsule collection. The collection takes its inspiration from classic Alaïa silhouettes dating back to the 1980s.

 
While developing the 35th anniversary collection, Alaïa and Barneys consulted archive images of Alaïa advertisement from the 1980s, when the designer and the department store began their partnership. The capsule collection includes the body-hugging dresses the designer is known for, in his signature color palette of red, white and black, as well as two new handbag designs.
 
“Very few designers have had as long and fruitful a career at Barneys as Azzedine Alaïa,” Barneys CEO Daniella Vitale said of the partnership. “He is not part of any ‘look’ or trend—he has genuinely stayed true to his aesthetic through and through.”

To celebrate the collection, Barneys has created special window displays at its two flagship stores in New York City and its flagship in Beverly Hills. The window display uses rotating boxes to allow viewers to see the Alaïa dresses from all angles and features panels using the designer’s signature die-cut petit fleur pattern.
 
To mark a new stage in their relationship, Barneys will also begin selling Alaïa shoes and accessories on its website for the very first time.

The anniversary capsule collection is available at select Barneys stores, with prices ranging from $2050 for a cocktail dress to $13,400 for an embroidered gown.

 
The Tunisian-born designer also notably returned to the couture shows after a six-year hiatus. He showed his most recent collection earlier this month in Paris, featuring his signature knits and pleated skirts, and with his longtime muse Naomi Campbell opening and closing the show.