This autumn, Paris becomes the stage for a remarkable dialogue between two legends of couture: Christian Dior and Azzedine Alaïa.

In an unprecedented collaboration, La Galerie Dior and the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation present twin exhibitions that shed light on the artistic kinship between the French master who revolutionised fashion in the mid-20th century and the Tunisian couturier who became one of its most significant voices.

Though separated by a generation, Dior and Alaïa shared an obsession with construction, silhouette, and the architecture of clothing. Alaïa, who cultivated his craft with quiet determination, amassed an extraordinary private archive of nearly six hundred garments, many by Dior and his successors. More than a hundred of these pieces, unseen until now, are unveiled at La Galerie Dior, offering visitors a glimpse into the roots of Alaïa’s lifelong fascination with the house and its legendary interpreters, from Yves Saint Laurent to John Galliano.

Meanwhile, intimate rooms of his Paris foundation, Alaïa’s own creations converse directly with the Dior models he so carefully preserved. This juxtaposition highlights not only his deep admiration for Dior’s New Look, the revolutionary style that redefined postwar femininity, but also how Alaïa extended and reinterpreted that legacy through his own sculptural approach to the female form.

Curated by Olivier Saillard in collaboration with Gaël Mamine, the project is more than a historical survey, it is an exploration of influence, and artistic continuity. Visitors are invited to witness how one designer’s vision can ignite another’s creativity, how collecting can be an act of devotion, and how fashion itself can serve as a bridge between eras.

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Image: Laziz Hamani