Alaïa has unveiled its Winter–Spring 2026 collection, a continuation of the house’s exploration of purity, intimacy and radical beauty.
The presentation reinforces the brand’s dedication to continuity, with each collection conceived as part of an evolving body of work that builds upon its predecessors. This principle echoes Azzedine Alaïa’s original philosophy of the intemporelle—timelessness through consistency.
Creative Director Pieter Mulier described the collection as “reduced, sculptural and precise,” yet also marked by extremes. Saturated colours and bold silhouettes define the season, balancing simplicity with intensity. Every element has been stripped back to essential materials, cotton, python, leather and silk, embodying both luxury and restraint.
Mulier revisited the notion of the uniform, taking inspiration from Azzedine Alaïa’s own workwear. These designs merge function and pragmatism with the house’s refined craftsmanship, creating what he refers to as “clothes as machines for living.” The collection bridges practicality and artistry, maintaining Alaïa’s tradition of garments that sculpt and move with the body.
Craftsmanship remains central to the house’s narrative. The show introduced inventive techniques such as macramé constructions that mimic feathers and pearls, adding texture and movement while celebrating handwork. These details reflect Mulier’s fascination with tension, between genders, between excess and restraint, and between the past and the future. The tension was mirrored in the show’s staging, where models appeared between filmed and mirrored reflections of themselves.
This interplay extended into the garments. Some pieces were tightly structured, drawn around the body and suspended from unexpected points to create ergonomic silhouettes. Others were left open or fragmented, revealing glimpses of skin and suggesting motion through the disjointed flow of fringes and fabric. The result was a series of looks that seemed to shift and fracture as the models moved, evoking what Mulier described simply as “clothes that cry.”
The Winter–Spring 2026 collection underscores Alaïa’s commitment to its founding principles: the celebration of the body, precision in design and the elevation of craft to art. It is a study in contrasts—of restraint and passion, simplicity and extravagance, affirming the house’s place as one of fashion’s most intellectually and aesthetically rigorous voices.
