Azzedine Alaia is my all time favorite designer. His clothes are very sculptural and understated and his designs are all about emphasizing a woman’s figure. His meticulous attention to the details of a female figure can not be matched by any living designer. But it doesn’t come as a surprise given his history: he is hugely influenced by Poiret and when he was younger he worked for Dior!

Alaia was born in Tunis and was educated there. He attended École des Beaux-Arts. There, he studied to be a sculptor. Because of his education, sculpture is at the core of his work. As he went from a student to a fashion designer, he traded in clay as his medium and began to use fabric instead.

His technique of “sculpting” silks and other fabrics came as a natural transition because he never abandoned his artistic skill set. What sets Alaia apart from other designers is the construction of his garments: Alaia fits his work on the body rather than a dress form. His process is both difficult and ingeniously creative. On the one hand, it much more difficult to fit and cut clothing on a body. On the other hand, perhaps he became a master at draping as a result of working directly on the body.

Alaia stays really low profile. He doesn’t do alot of press because his work speaks for itself.  His clothes are timeless and most of them just carry over from season to season, year after year. As I mentioned before, if I had all the money in the world my entire wardrobe would be made up entirely of Alaia. His clothes fit me perfectly and his sizes run super small in all the right places. Whatever Alaia item you covet this season will probably never make it to the sale racks. Although if you’re lucky, you can get a pair of Alaia shoes at a half-off sale. Most high-end retailers like Neiman’s, Bergdorf’s and Barneys  markdown at least a couple of pairs of Alaia shoes every season, but you have to be super fast!

Some looks from his Spring 09 collection:

Beautiful gray Alaia skirt

Beautiful black cotton zipper dress from Azzedine Alaia spring 2009 collection

I had on Alaia lace panel skirt

Ashley Olsen in over-the-calf Azzedine Alaia gladiator sandals:

Naomi Campbell in Alaia

Have a nice day everyone !!! xoxo – Nini Nguyen

I got an email today from my friend Kristie Ramirez – style editor for Texas Monthly magazine. She said that she did a write-up on me on the Texas Monthly website. It was exciting to see a picture of Hanh and me, and to read the article she posted. Thank you so much Kristie for featuring me on Texas Monthly website.

This is what Hanh wore last week to meet me up for lunch.

Wearing: Marni tunic from 4510, F21 short, belt & cuffs, necklace from 4510, shoes Pierre Hardy, bag Lanvin.

Please click here to check out Hanh’s blog.

Spiked cuffs

Alexander Wang dress is so FINE!!!!!

Leather short by Charlotte Ronson

Lace up flat boots – I’m looking for a pair of vintage black lace up flat boots for spring to wear with shorts, and sundresses. If you see them please let me know.

photos: knightlycat, leatherlore, style.com

Wishing everyone have a wonderful day!!!!! Nini

We have both been so busy with our schedules since our NYC trip! Today Hanh and I made time to see each other. We went to lunch for a wonderful meal and some girl-talk, then we went groceries shopping together. I wish there was someone around to help us take the picture so that we could have both been in it but oh, well! I’ll post mine at a different time.

I’m so excited because Hanh’s birthday is tomorrow. We’ll probably just do a casual lunch because the big party will happen next week in Las Vegas.

The Givenchy cowboy-inspired boots/sandal from this spring season.

Beautiful Maison Martin Margiela top

nude back view of the Maison Martin Margiela top

Wearing : MMMargiela top (one of her goodies from the NY trip), cowboy-inspired Spring 09 Givenchy, rag & Bone legging, and MMMargiela necklace.

In honor of Hanh’s birthday, I decided to post some answers to the questions that people ask about her all the time.

Q&A :

Who is your all time favorite designer?
Rick Owens

Who is your current designer obbession?

Sara Rutson. Although Hanh has many style icons and they change over time, the woman of the moment is Sara Rutson. Hanh loves the ways Sara dresses and has found alot of inspiration from her when it comes to fashion. Also, a huge part of why Hanh finds her inspiring is that she’s a very nice person.

Hanh has started blogging and I’m so excited for her! As you all know, Hanh loves fashion and wears the most chic, latest fashions everyday. In her blog, rather then focusing on fashion, she’s going to tell us about her other other passion – her life in traveling. Click here to view Hanh’s blog.