Azzedine Alaïa and Elle Mcpherson, 1986.
Photo: Gilles Bensimon, courtesy of Alaïa.
Azzedine Alaïa is launching his second fragrance, Blanche, which is set to hit shelves next month. While the Tunisian couturier’s debut scent Alaîa Paris was conceived from a childhood memory (the smell of cold water falling on hot chalk), Blanche was inspired by his first trip to Granada. With his new perfume, Alaïa wanted to express what “white” represents to him. To do so, he told the so-called “nose” behind the fragrance, Marie Salamagne, about his first visit to l’Alhambra, Spain. “White is not a color to him or a shade but represents the light that he saw at the Islamic castle in Granada,” Salamagne reveals to Vogue Arabia. Speaking of the ingredients, she explains: “It is based on a powdery note with a bit of almond; you will smell some musk-animalistic notes, as found in the first perfume. It’s very refined. I also added a touch of vanilla absolute.”
Courtesy of Alaïa.
The new fragrance is packaged in a transparent bottle meticulously engraved with Alaïa’s signature laser-cut and topped with a gold thread-like cap, made to mimic the “King of Cling’s” body-hugging designs.
With his precision draping, metal rivets and exceptional eye for detail, the Tunisian-born designer—who currently resides in Paris—has established a loyal cadre of clients and dressed some of fashion’s most powerful women. From America’s first lady Michelle Obama and iconic silver screen star Greta Garbo, to supermodels including Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and his muse Farida Khelfa, the couturier’s high profile clients are naturally drawn to his intricate designs and figure-sculpting silhouettes.
The couturier and Linda Evangelista.
Photo: Peter Lindbergh, courtesy of Alaïa.
After establishing himself as a world-leading designer, Alaïa made his first dalliance into the fragrance world in 2015 in collaboration with French perfumer Marie Salamagne, close friend Carla Sozzani and designer Martin Szekely (the same team behind Blanche). The result is a musky, animalistic scent that is equally as risqué as his designs.
Photo: Patrick Demarchelier, Courtesy of Alaïa.
His second fragrance comes only a couple of months after his intimate Spring 2017 Ready-to-Wear offering, where he sent models down the “runway” (read: his atelier) wearing mid-length dresses, tunic shirts, and a sleeveless, paper white dress decorated with studs.
