azzedine alaia

>> The second edition of LOVE comes out next week, and even though she just recently got married, editor-in-chief Katie Grand didn't have time for a honeymoon because she had to finish the issue.  Katie is somewhat the antithesis of Anna Wintour in the so-called glamorous world of fashion: she doesn't feel the need to have every hair in place and she doesn't mandate high heels, like Vogue supposedly does.

“I’m really practical,” she recently told the Times UK. “I go to the gym most mornings and I walk everywhere, so that’s why I wear flat shoes and no make-up. It’s not vanity; it’s laziness. I didn’t wear make-up on my wedding day because I didn’t want mascara running down my face if I cried.”  Also missing from the wedding?  The traditional white dress. “I wore an Azzedine Alaïa brown snakeskin dress, which he tortured me for about two months to get into, but at least it’s something I can wear again. I didn’t want some stupid white dress; it seems like such a waste."

Food banned at LOVE's office? »

>> Ashley, Mary-Kate Olsen Cut into Alaia Dresses Without a Care —Ashley Olsen can cut a mean set of basics for The Row, but in the September 2009 issue of Marie Claire, she admits that she and Mary-Kate also cut other designer's pieces to suit their small frames: "The amount of beautiful things we've ruined — not having the patience for a tailor and cutting everything ourselves . . . My sister once took an Alaïa dress of mine and just cut the whole thing, and then she was like, 'I cut it too short.' Mary-Kate and I don't think about fashion as these clean, beautiful objects. We just kind of wear it and live in it." [Marie Claire]

>> Katie Grand Got Married over the Weekend —Katie Grand's professional life keeps on rolling — the August 2009 cover shot of Dree Hemingway she styled for Vogue Russia just popped up — but over the weekend, she took some time for the more personal: She married longtime boyfriend, Pulp bassist Steve Mackey, at secluded resort The Point in the Adirondacks of upstate New York wearing made-to-measure Azzedine Alaia (left). [LOVE blog, LOVE blog] 

>> Katie Grand Is Wearing Alaia for Her Wedding—Katie Grand just had her bachelorette party a couple of weeks ago in London — she's marrying her boyfriend, Pulp bassist Steve Mackey, who she's been with for over 10 years, despite saying last year that "he doesn't want to get married" — and while counting down the days to her wedding in upstate New York, she spent yesterday morning styling LOVE intern Pixie Geldof in Giles Deacon's Cruise 2010 collection at his East London studio.  Katie's engagement ring is Dior Fine Jewelry — she designed it with Victoire de Castellane — and her wedding dress is made-to-measure Azzedine Alaia. [Style.com]

>> Michelle Obama's sartorial choices have caused a bit of a riff among designers, causing some to call others "dinosaurs," but over the weekend she was joined by favorites Narciso Rodriguez and Jason Wu — who apparently got carded by a bartender — at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, and earned herself a new designer fan.

Donatella Versace, who attended as a guest of Vanity Fair, was excited to participate — she even blogged the experience for the Huffington Post, citing a pet peeve for Blackberrys. "I follow politics. It's part of my life. I think if you're involved in the modern world — if you're a modern person — you need to know what's going on in the world.  My business is worldwide. I know German politics. I know French politics."

She even admitted to protesting during her university years. "I was very involved in politics and sit-ins. Students were fighting for things, and I think young people need to fight for their future."

But back to Michelle — particularly in France. "She looked fierce," Versace says. "They're a couple who knows how to dare. I'm sure she has people around her telling her it's too much. She looked great in Alaia."

Donatella only has one request: "I want to know her size. I want to send her clothes.  But I'm a bit shy."
*image: source

>> Azzedine Alaia is not letting up on his anger over the omission of his work from this year's Costume Insitute exhibit "The Model as Muse," and he continues to blame Anna Wintour.

Yesterday, he told WWD over the phone that she has snubbed his work for 15 years: “She behaves like a dictator and everyone is terrified of her . . . but I’m not scared of her or anyone.” Putting his money where his mouth is, he aims to continue his campaign against her.  The seven dresses he created for Monday night's gala — Linda Evangelista's, Stephanie Seymour's, and Naomi Campbell's among them — that went unworn at his request, he plans to loan them out for editorials.

So why wasn't he included in the first place? »

>> THE MODELIZER —After Azzedine Alaia asked her not to wear the dress he made for the occasion, Stephanie Seymour is joining Naomi Campbell in sitting out the Costume Institute Gala tonight. “Azzedine has made my dress for every single ball.  I had a fitting in Paris. But then he called me over the weekend and asked me not to wear the dress. I will still make my donation to the Met, but I won’t be going.” [On the Runway]

*image: source

>> Anna Wintour received criticism yesterday for co-opting the Met's reputation for her own means, but new Costume Institute Gala-related developments snuff out those complaints in a second.  Seven models — including Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, and Linda Evangelista — were to wear Azzedine Alaia creations to the gala tonight, but the designer has asked them not to wear the dresses because his work, though strongly tied to a number of the supermodels' careers, has no place in this year's exhibit, save for one photograph.

As a result, Naomi Campbell — as rumored — plus some of the other (unnamed) models will not be attending tonight in a gesture to the designer. A spokeswoman for Campbell confirmed this afternoon: “As Naomi has been the muse of Azzedine Alaia for 23 years, she feels she doesn’t want to attend unless she can represent his work.”  No word on whether Seymour and Evangelista will do the same.

Alaia blames Anna Wintour for the omission »