Throughout his career, Alaïa was feverishly inspired by his friendships with artists, musicians, architects, and writers, leading to a number of notable collaborations. Thus, it comes as no surprise that in 1985 the first of such partnerships he embarked upon was with his close friend, sculptor César Baldaccini.
While the two bonded over their deep Mediterranean heritage, Alaïa and César also shared likeminded sensibilities for sculptural forms, fine art, and good food. One night during a visit to Azzedine’s famous kitchen beneath his Paris atelier, where the designer would often spend hours preparing dinner for friends, César and Alaïa conceptualized their “Impression Compression” collaboration. Inspired by César’s compression series, in which he turned cars, cans, metal objects, and discarded scraps into sculptures, the artist executed two-dimensional compression works on paper for Alaïa to then print atop fabric and use in his forthcoming collection. César’s patterns and Alaïa’s designs epitomized the blend of their collective genius. The “Impression Compression” collection demonstrated the mastery of their individual aesthetics while bringing them each to new heights.
