Contemplating at Azzedine Alaïa’s memorable Fall Winter 1986 collection and the introduction of the (now iconic) hooded dress
“My obsession is to make women beautiful. When you create with that in mind, things can’t go out of fashion,” Tunisian couturier once said. Azzedine Alaïa was a visionary whose understanding of women and clothing contributed dearly to fashion.
Famously known for his daring sculpts and unconventional silhouettes, the designer created clothes that sublimated women. “For me, fashion is the body,” Alaïa said. “I make clothes, women make fashion”.
The Tunis-born couturier was a trendsetter. In 1986, he introduced the (now iconic) hooded dress on the runway.
One of the designer’s most famous muses, Grace Jones, walked the catwalk in the infamous pink hooded dress that season. A remarkable fashion moment.
The construction of the dress was extraordinarily new at the time, and the introduction of it on the catwalk propelled Azzedine Alaïa as a pioneer couturier, mastering cut and construction, and a visionary designer.
Today, style figures like Bella Hadid, Rihanna or Paloma Elsesser continue to style and magnify the Alaïa hooded dress. Recently, Bella Hadid wore a rare archival piece from Alaïa’s Fall/Winter 1986 collection at the 2022 edition of Fashion Trust Arabia in Doha, Qatar. Another remarkable fashion moment.
