Ala?a’s Early Days
Jean-Pierre Ronzel / Courtesy Fondation Azzedine Ala?a
“Ala?a afore Ala?a,” the latest exhibit at the Fondation Azzedine Ala?a, explores the designer’s formative years and the friendships that inspired him.
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It recounts his time in design school in Tunis in the ’50s, through the first days in Paris as he honed his craft, up until the moment he became a world famous designer in 1979.
The show, which opened Friday, upends the normal exhibition style. The written word is placed front and center using archive documents, sketches and photos to create stories and snapshots in time.
Some of the designer’s most memorable pieces are displayed through slim windows at unexpected and teasing angles, framed by quotes from those who knew him, which allows you to peek inside, jewel-box style, to view some of his creations.
“In the past, we did some beautiful exhibitions but we were more focused on dresses than information, and this is absolutely the opposite,” said curator Olivier Saillard. The exhibit is rich in history and detail. “We have every bit of information you can learn about Ala?a with the documents. It’s a different kind of exhibition — you have to concentrate more to read about his life.”
Fondation president Carla Sozzani acted as archivist and handled the artistic direction.
The first floor touches on early influences, including his twin sister Haifa and the Catholic nuns of the Sisters of Sion order, whose religious habits later inspired headwear designs, and walks through eras and friends including Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele and Gilles Bensimon.
Upstairs is a room dedicated to childhood friend and his lifelong muse, the model and designer Leila Menchari, expressed through notes and photos including intimate, candid photo booth-style snaps.
Courtesy Fondation Azzedine Ala?a
Late designer Thierry Mugler also plays a big part in the display, as he did in Ala?a’s life.
“It feels very strange to talk about him in the past,” Saillard said of Mugler, who passed away Jan. 23. “But he has a very large place in the exhibition and he was a very big supporter of Azzedine in the 1970s.” Mugler’s encouragement took Ala?a to New York and launched him from sewing behind the scenes to international stardom.
Saillard hopes the exhibit can encourage young creatives to be inspired by Ala?a’s humble origins and his rise through the fashion world through craft, inspiration and dedication. “His work is more important than the style,” Saillard said. “He had a style, but he was very dedicated to always learning about technique.”
The museum is planning deep-dives into Ala?a’s technique and inspirations with monthly talks scheduled throughout the duration of the exhibit.
“Azzedine afore Ala?a” runs through Oct. 24. — RHONDA RICHFORD
DOUBLE TAKE
image courtesy of Max & Co,
Two brands under the Max Mara Fashion Group umbrella are gearing up to present their latest collaborations during Milan Fashion Week, both scheduled on Feb. 23.
For fall 2022, Max & Co. has teamed with Efisio Rocco Marras, son of fashion designer Antonio Marras. The collection, called Pony Ride, will be available in stores in September.
Efisio Marras was born in Alghero, Italy, in 1991, and moved to Paris after high school to attend The New School’s Parsons School of Design, where he became interested in different creative areas. There he had the opportunity to attend programs at Central Saint Martins in London, at Temple University in Tokyo and at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he developed an interest in photography. Over the years, he has been in charge of the I’m Isola Marras collection, and developed other capsules, for example, with L.B.M. 1911, one of the brands in the portfolio of the Mantua, Italy-based men’s suit-maker Lubiam.
This is the second such initiative for Max & Co., which last September collaborated with Margherita Maccapani Missoni on a capsule collection for spring 2022.
The tie-ups are part of a series of partnerships for the brand, dubbed &Co.llaboration, aimed at linking with creative friends of the brand who are tasked with reinterpreting the house codes.
Also, Weekend Max Mara will unveil its new Signature Collection co-created with architect and designer Patricia Urquiola and called Habito, to bow for fall 2022. This marks the 10th collection for the brand.
Last September, Weekend Max Mara teamed with New York-based stylist and editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson on the spring 2022 collection, called “Family Affair.”
Weekend Max Mara previously unveiled capsules developed with top model Alek Wek; American illustrator and pop artist Donald Robertson; Lucinda Chambers, former fashion director of British Vogue; Oscar-winning costume designer Gabriella Pescucci; American interior designer Anthony Baratta, and American artist Richard Saja inspired by the famed Royal Ascot races, among others. — LUISA ZARGANI
STREET SIGNS
Courtesy of PP48
Italian sneaker label P448, which just set up shop on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, stands out from its swanky neighbors with its halfpipe at the entrance, graffiti-splattered concrete plinths and basketball hoops doubling as little round shelves.
Sandwiched between Lanvin and Ermanno Scervino and a stone’s throw from Hermès, the 6,000-square-foot unit opened Friday for 15 months, and boasts a commercial showroom on one of its three floors.
Wayne Kulkin, P448’s chief executive officer, balks at the term pop-up.
“We wanted to create brand immersion labs where we can share our love of street art and music,” he said, also calling the sales associates “ambassadors” who encourage people to hang out and discover the brand universe.
“As we think these stores are true labs, we seek one- to two-year leases,” he said, explaining that the retail locations gather “feedback to better understand our customers as well as getting live feedback that is presented on a daily basis from our stores and goes right to our design, marketing and digital teams.”
Previously home to La Perla, the narrow boutique has been stripped down to expose its brick columns, with the main sales area evoking a street basketball court.
P448 recently opened a temporary location in Miami, and its first “lab” location that opened in Manhattan last September is moving on Feb. 4 one block up on Fifth Avenue with a full-floor LED screen above the main floor.
“The goal is to open as many stores as possible in key gathering places where there are a high amount of domestic and international tourists,” Kulkin said, noting that his wish list of cities includes London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Austin, Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas and Manhattan Beach, where he grew up.
P448 was founded by street art enthusiasts Marco Samore and Andrea Curti in 2014 in a small town outside of Bologna, Italy. Kulkin met the duo and established a distribution deal in 2018 and bought the full company in 2020 with Hilco Global’s chairman and CEO Jeffrey Hecktman as partner in parent StreetTrend LLC.
P448 is in 1,400 global doors and half of its business is in North America. — MILES SOCHA
SHEA MARIE’S NEW DEAL
Courtesy
Creative Artists Agency has signed Shea Marie, the influencer with 1.4 million Instagram followers.
Originally from California, Marie — showcasing her style and frequent travels on social media — is a fashion and lifestyle content creator. But she’s also the founder and chief executive officer of swimwear, resortwear and activewear label Same, launched in 2016 and seen on the likes of Kendall Jenner and Tyra Banks. The luxury brand is sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Harrods.
The influencer has also ventured in beauty, introducing a skin care and body care line, The Feelist, in 2020. Available direct-to-consumer, the brand utilizes plant-based ingredients.
Marie — featured in Vogue, Elle, Forbes and Harper’s Bazaar, Nylon and W Magazine (dubbed an “It” girl by the latter two) — has collaborated with companies that include Dior, Fendi, Ralph Lauren, Nars, St. Regis Hotels, Land Rover and Veuve Clicquot. She has partnered with Victoria’s Secret, the first influencer to help design a capsule collection with the lingerie retailer, as well as launched limited-edition collections with American accessories brand Steve Madden and Pinko, the Italian women’s fashion label.
In September, industry veteran and modeling agent Anne Nelson joined CAA’s fashion division — a department that continues to grow.
“I look forward to deepening CAA’s connection between fashion and creative clients alike through innovative deal-making strategies that harness the agency’s resources in popular culture,” she told WWD at the time.
CAA Fashion represents the likes of fashion designer Prabal Gurung, photographer Annie Leibovitz, makeup artist Sir John and model Leni Klum, daughter of Heidi Klum. CAA Fashion has also tapped fashion executive Hervé Bougon. — RYMA CHIKHOUNE
LA LA’S LATEST LINE
La La Anthony is the latest celebrity to enter the beauty market.
The actress and philanthropist revealed her new beauty brand today, called Inala. The brand is launching in the hair care category with one product, the Power Potion, which is a scalp and hair treatment.
“Because of the nature of my career and being on set so often, my hair is constantly tugged, pulled and heat styled,” Anthony said about the brand. “Over time, the damage to my hair became noticeable and I went on a hunt for something to help restore my hair’s health. There isn’t a single woman in my life who hasn’t struggled with some form of styling damage, hormonal hair changes or hair loss and I knew, once I found the solution that worked for me, I needed to share it with the world.”
The Inala Power Potion is made with a rice water complex that includes rice water, biotin and arginine, which is said to replenish and strengthen the hair. The product is priced at $55 and will be available on the Inala website.
Courtesy of Inala
Anthony stated she became familiar with rice water through YouTube and TikTok, where she learned about how Asian cultures have historically used the ingredient on their hair for centuries. She then started experimenting with rice water in her kitchen and using it on her hair, and later teamed with cofounder Josh Snow to use rice water in the Inala Power Potion.
“In learning about rice water and creating our signature rice water complex, I learned hair health starts at the scalp but doesn’t end there,” she said. “It starts at the scalp, moves to the strand and weaves through our internal self. Stress, sleep, what we eat, where we live and how we style are only some examples of hair health factors. Inala’s goal is to approach hair health from a multilayered view, literally from the crown down.”
Anthony explained that she wanted to launch with just one product to see the customer feedback and navigate product development based off their desires and needs. The brand has other launches already slated for the rest of this year.
The actress chose the name Inala for several reasons, one being that it is her legal first name — Alani — spelled backward, and the other being that the letters represent the brand pillars: inclusive, nourishing, accessible, listen and learn, and amplify.
“The mission of Inala is to boost hair health from the crown down,” Anthony said. “Confidence and self-expression guide our product purpose with the goal of making empowered hair easy. We use this term ‘empowered hair,’ which for us means hair is more than how it looks. It’s letting your strands tell the story of how you feel. It’s you having control over your hair and not your hair having control over you.” — LAYLA ILCHI
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