Azzedine Alaïa doesn’t operate according to others’ timetables. The Tunisian-born, Paris-based designer has long spurned convention. Each season, a handful of buyers, close friends and oh-so-lucky editors see his collections at intimate, post-Fashion Week showings. Plus, up until now, Alaïa’s current ready-to-wear offerings couldn’t be found online (resale sites excluded).
Starting on Thursday, that last point will change. For the first time in history, e-tail kingpin Net-a-Porter will carry a selection of 60 pieces from the luxury fashion house’s Spring 2017 collection. Said pieces will include sculptural knitted dresses (Alaïa’s calling card) along with more spring-apropos separates.
Alaïa x Net-a-Porter Spring 2017 Campaign; Image: Courtesy
“We wanted to provide our customer with a wide offering, so we’ve bought a variety of the classic knit dresses in different colorways, with varying sleeve lengths and hemlines. Whilst dresses are a significant part of the offering — we have 22 styles in classic Alaïa shapes — separates were also very strong and therefore prominent within our selection,” Holly Russell, Net-a-Porter’s senior buyer for power designers (yup, that’s a thing) told WWD. “We’ve backed the matching top and skirt combinations, as well as mini and maxi skirts, cotton shirting and denim. Knowing our customer, these categories will be quick to sell.”
In addition to ready-to-wear, Net-a-Porter will stock an array of Alaïa beauty products — perfumes, body creams, scented candles and so forth. You’ll also find Alaïa footwear, handbags and accessories on the site, which Net-a-Porter and the Outnet have stocked for some time.
The ready-to-wear pieces will be priced between $337 and $6,024 and are expected to sell out quickly as, according to Russell, the Alaïa customer is very loyal to the brand and aware of the cut and fit of each piece. Very true — in some cases, the Alaïa woman is even willing to defy muggers to keep her hard-won pieces pristine.
[ via WWD ]
