ALAÏA - SF23 SHOW

The essence, the essential. Purity, simplicity, directness.
The Summer-Fall 2023 collection by Pieter Mulier is an exploration of the meaning of Alaïa - its anatomy, its psychology, its soul. The focus is the fundamental, without distraction. A notion of sculpture through clothing, of carving shape from cloth, of couturier as bâtisseur - or builder - crafting garments around the body. Methodologies of construction become means of decoration, concrete translated to decoration, a humble dressmaker’s pin can become sublime.
The curvilinear, a shape traced by Alaïa, is universal, translated into garments and accessories alike. Precise and yet natural, the curve is a line of innate sensuality, the quintessence of the female.
Throughout, there are memories and reminders - garments as mnemonic gestures to the identity of Alaïa. A history traced through cloth, encompassing references preceding and within the universe of the house, echoing its past, suggesting its future.
The French word maison can describe both house, and home - the physical, and the psychological. Home is a vital component to Alaïa, a true Maison. In reflection of this notion, Pieter Mulier invites an audience into his own maison in Antwerp, a reciprocal exchange after shows within the home of Alaïa in Paris. The space, like the clothes, is intimate, personal. It is built for life, it is alive.

After the show, Pieter Mulier received the guests for an intimate dinner at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The KMSKA is the largest art museum in Flanders. With absolute masterpieces from the Flemish primitives and the Antwerp Baroque to an extensive collection of modern art with Rik Wouters, Henri de Braekeleer and René Magritte.