Olivier Saillard – författare

The visual dialogue between two maitre couturiers featuring the best creations of Azzedine Alaia and Christian Dior It was in Tunisia, when he was still a teenager, that the young Alaïa first discovered the creations of Christian Dior through fashion magazines made available to him by Madame Pinault. In 1956, on his arrival in Paris, he undertook a brief four-day internship with the great couturier, whom he had always admired. During this time, he immersed himself in the unique atmosphere of a fashion house, observed the work of the head of the atelier, and witnessed the creation of a collection... This seminal experience would be spoken of with emotion for many years to come.The book Azzedine Alaïa and Christian Dior: Two Masters of Couture offers a dialogue between Azzedine Alaïa's models and those that the couturier patiently collected from Christian Dior. It highlights concepts of style and creation that, despite being separated by several decades, respond to, unite or confront each other, bearing witness to a shared sensibility over time.

Famed fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa’s exceptional personal collection of Dior designs, revealing a fascinating connection in fashion history.Alaïa was not only a renowned couturier but also a passionate fashion historian and an insatiable collector, an interest he cultivated starting in the 1960s. He gathered over 20,000 garments in his lifetime, from the birth of haute couture to pieces by contemporaries he admired.This book showcases for the first time the priceless personal collection of Dior designs that Alaïa assembled over decades—pieces by Christian Dior as well as the artistic directors that followed him at the helm of the House. The collection is analyzed through chapters dedicated to the elements that awakened the curiosity of Alaïa’s collector genius: the construction of the dresses—their “architecture”; the enchanting multitude of the color tones and textures of the fabrics and materials; and the poetry of the names of Dior’s creations revealing the diversity of his sources of inspiration, such as Accacias, Astarté, Caracas, Chérie, Jardin anglais, Madrid, Marcel Pagnol, Rose des vents, or Tourbillon.. Illustrated by beautiful photographs of the dresses, historical archival images, drawings by Christian Dior, and collection charts detailing fabric samples and sketches, this book offers a fresh view of Alaïa’s influences and Dior’s history and will appeal to fashion lovers everywhere.

A stunning showcase of Azzedine Alaïa’s remarkable fashion collection, most published here for the first time. Azzedine Alaïa (1935–2017) was not only a world renowned fashion designer but also an avid collector of vintage fashion. Based on a major exhibition at the Palais Galliera, Paris, the book showcases the extensive collection he built up over the decades, driven by his fascination with the history of couture and his desire to conserve its heritage for future generations. Accumulated in the utmost secrecy and never revealed during his lifetime, the sumptuous selection of garments ranges from the 19th-century elegance of Jacques Doucet and the House of Worth to the names that shaped 20th-century fashion – Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior, Schiaparelli – and on to contemporary innovators such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander McQueen. Captured in specially taken photographs, these meticulously crafted pieces are a tribute to Alaïa’s unerring tastes, to the couturiers who inspired and influenced him, and to his endless respect for the craftspeople that created such objects of lasting beauty.

The definitive monograph on iconic Parisian designer Madame Grès, seen by her peers as the tutelary genius of French haute couture.Renowned for her signature draping and innovative asymmetrical dresses, Madame Grès (1903–1993) was one of the leading fashion designers of twentieth-century Paris. Formally trained as a sculptor, her complex yet delicate haute couture designs evoke ancient statuary and exude a timeless elegance.Known as a designer’s designer, Madame Grès’s prime was between the 1930s and 1950s, but she also saw a comeback in the 1970s, with Yves Saint Laurent and Issey Miyake advocating for her work. A pioneer of sophisticated minimalism and of the attention and respect for the female body, she has had a lasting effect on haute couture. Her creations have inspired many of fashion’s most illustrious designers including Cristóbal Balenciaga, Azzedine Alaïa, Yohji Yamamoto, and Haider Ackermann, and 1990s pioneers of contemporary minimalism Calvin Klein and Jil Sander. Her legacy continues to inspire new generations to design clothes that enhance the movement of the body without compromises.In this book, readers discover the couture work of Madame Grès, which was beloved by an array of fashionable women including Marlene Dietrich, Princess Grace of Monaco, Jackie Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor, and Edith Piaf. Edited by celebrated fashion historian Olivier Saillard, this volume notably features stunning shots of Madame Grès dresses displayed as works of art in the exclusive settings of the Bourdelle Museum and the SCAD FASH Museum in Atlanta.

Longtime creative collaborators Tilda Swinton and Olivier Saillard present an illustrated tribute to the costumes of legendary Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s iconic films.Retracing Pier Paolo Pasolini’s entire cinematography—which continues to fascinate audiences almost half a century after his passing—Embodying Pasolini explores the costumes that brought his films to life. From The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964), The Canterbury Tales (1972), and Arabian Nights (1974) to Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), Pasolini’s movies are known for their provocative flair—making them staples of art cinema’s golden age. Styled by Danilo Donati, the costumes—garments, coats, and hats—enlivened the films with their rich textures, volume, color, and embellishments. This exquisite volume documents the eponymous performance that took place in Rome on July 25, 2021, in Solomeo on April 30, 2022, and which will be presented in Paris on December 3 through 10, 2022. Conceived by Olivier Saillard and poetically interpreted by Tilda Swinton, the sold-out event—an ephemeral artwork in itself—showcased thirty of the most influential costumes of Pasolini’s films. With fascinating texts by Swinton, Saillard, and Clara Tosi Pamphili and evocative photographs by Ruediger Glatz, this publication—part art object, part catalog—is an extraordinary tribute to cinematic fashion and the sole record of the critically acclaimed production.

On January 21, 1971, couturier Yves Saint Laurent presented his Spring-Summer haute couture collection. Inspired by the garments of the war years, the collection included short dresses, platform shoes, square shoulders, and exaggerated makeup. The show caused an outrage among the public, the critics, and the press alike, earning it the title of “Paris’s ugliest collection.” Nevertheless, the haute couture designs of the runway made their way to the boulevards, giving full sway to the “retro” trend that quickly conquered the streets.  Yves Saint Laurent: The Scandal Collection, 1971 offers a behind-the-scenes look at the influential collection that “drew fire in the fashion world”—from the collection’s inspiration to the press coverage that followed. Beautifully illustrated and documented with well-researched essays, this book is enriched with personal interviews and archival photographs of the show, the models, the designs, and the textile and print samples, as well as sketches and international press clippings.