Throwback Thursday: 2005 Guest of Honor Azzedine Alaïa

Gladys Perint Palmer, Azzedine Alaïa, Carla Sozzani, and Elisa Stephens at the 2005 Academy of Art University Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony.

Today’s Throwback Thursday celebrates the Fashion School’s 2005 Guest of Honor, fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa. “Azzedine Alaïa agreed to visit the Academy of Art University, over lunch in his kitchen, in July 2004,” said Executive Director of the School of Fashion, Gladys Perint Palmer, “No one believed he would come – but he did. For decades he was the most important outsider, known only to insiders. He never stopped working and always respected others who did the same. Success has not changed him.”

2013 is looking like it’s going to be quite the year for the Tunisian-born couturier. His latest collection has been met with rave reviews for its quality of 3D knitting and its gorgeous silhouettes. In May, the designer’s costumes will appear stateside in Christopher Alden’s version of “The Marriage of Figaro,” at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In September, the newly renovated Musée Galliera in Paris will reopen with an Alaïa retrospective, curated by museum director Olivier Saillard. In the following months, the designer’s newest store location will open off Avenue Montaigne.

We offer Azzedine Alaïa our congratulations on an exciting year ahead. For more on the designer, click here.