“The foundation of beauty is the body.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I work for women. I only think for them. If I didn’t like women, I wouldn’t do this job.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“My father could be very strict, but very fair. His father was the same. We all respected my grandfather; he was the head of the clan. Every morning, we all had to say good morning and kiss his hand. But not me. I jumped on his lap and bit him.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I think women should be seductive, not triste. There’s enough sadness in life now without making women look sad, too.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Karl Lagerfeld never touched a pair of scissors in his life.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I like black, because for me it is a very happy color.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I am never sure that anything’s good enough. Something that is good today will not be good tomorrow.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“As a child, I was raised with my grandmother, alongside all my cousins, and the kitchen was always full.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“There is a sensuality about fabric. I think all materials should be inviting when they touch the skin. When I watch children stroking their mother’s clothes, I feel that I have succeeded.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I would rather die than see my face in a car advertisement.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Bill Cunningham… he knows fashion better than anybody.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Anna Wintour doesn’t deal with pictures; she is just doing PR and business, and she scares everybody.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“’Vogue’ remains while its fashion editors come and go.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“The danger is we’re losing sight of what women really want to wear.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I am very curious. Every day, I say: ‘What am I going to learn today, and whom am I going to meet?’”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Beyonce is a beautiful, elegant woman who is also a wonderful dancer. And her voice is sublime. Just like her husband, Jay-Z, Beyonce has real talent. They are both the kind of truly great artist who will be remembered by history. Their child will be lucky to have such talented parents.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“When I was growing up, I never heard the word ‘racism.’ It was only in Paris I encountered that.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I take it to heart that, for example, there aren’t enough funds for AIDS research, but people pay 20 times the value of an item of clothing.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I make clothes; women make fashion.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I never followed fashion. It’s women who have dictated my conduct.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“If I don’t have a model in front of me, I don’t have an idea.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I have total confidence in Beaute Prestige International to accompany me in creating a perfume that interprets my work and my world.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I used to spend my nights oversewing dresses for a local dressmaker in order to pay for my school equipment.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I love American girls. They’re audacious. They put more outrageous things on their bodies than anybody.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I prefer to stay poor.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I want to speak directly with a star, not her stylist.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“The present fashion system is too hard – there are too many collections. The designers have no time to think! Money is too important. Schedules are too crazy.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Ballet costumes are easier that opera because they are designed for movement.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I even do my ready-to-wear samples like couture.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Who can really say who invents something first in fashion?”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I had used the stretch materials for years to shape the inside of garments I made for private clients. Then I just started using them on their own.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“A human being is not a machine. Especially when it comes to creating.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Even if I was in prison, I could be free in my head. I can adapt easily.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I’ve been wearing Chinese clothes since I was 14. I can’t wear a suit. I’m small, and when I put on a suit, it’s not possible.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Fashion will last forever. It will exist always. It will exist in its own way in each era.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“My obsession is to make women beautiful. When you create with that in mind, things can’t go out of fashion.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I want to create a foundation, like a maison, in my home in the Marais. I am going to leave everything there. I am only passing through. I’m not a proprietor of anything, even if I have homes and things.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I’m always telling young designers to take the time to surround themselves with women.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“It’s important to make women feel confident, because I think they are more important than men.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Women must know themselves better than anyone. If you have ugly legs, wear long dresses. If you have long, great legs, show them.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I don’t wear perfume, and I don’t like the air to be too saturated with scents.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“If you’re sad about what you see in the mirror when you wake up every morning, you must change it.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“Who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“As I said many times, the fashion world, its system, can be disturbing.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“When you have one idea per year, it’s already a miracle!”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I’m working 24 hours a day. I have had a house in Tunisia for 20 years, and I never have time to go because there are collections, fittings.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“There was a woman in Tunisia called Madame Pinot. She was a midwife and had helped in the birth of my siblings and me. I assisted her. I helped women give birth to a lot of babies when I was very young.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I learned French in Tunis, along with Arabic. I also learned French history. I knew the entire history of the kings of France. And I was fascinated by Versailles.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I love film – it’s like painting.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I’m happier about my friends than I am about my work. I still have a long way to go with work. My friends, that’s the one thing I’m sure about.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“In modelling, it’s very hard to keep in touch with the people you knew when you started.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“A woman is like an actress: she’s always onstage.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“In an ordinary suit and tie, I’d look like a little macho. I’d be ridiculous.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“As for success, I don’t care for it. It is a fragile thing.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“You know Sarkozy offered me the Legion d’honneur medal? I refused. People said I refused because I don’t like Sarkozy, but that’s ridiculous. I refused because I don’t like decorations – except on women.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I am always in doubt; I am never sure of myself.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I put myself on the same level as everyone else around me – from the directrice to the workman, everyone. Except my pets – they are the Kings; you must treat them like royalty.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“You have to take things with a lot of laughter. I laugh with everyone; this way, I will be able to die happy.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“I have been offered the highest paid contracts in the world. I refused them all. It’s not my thing. I don’t want to cheat people.”
― Azzedine Alaia
“There are certain people I am allergic to. I even intervene when I don’t like a customer; I rush in and check all the names. If I don’t like them, I don’t take them.”
― Azzedine Alaia
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