Alaia/Kuramata

This publication brings together the works of the Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata(1934-1991) and the creations of the great couturier Azzedine Alaa. Fashion designer Azzedine Alaa was a fervent admirer of Shiro Kuramata, even organizing an exhibition of his work at the Fondation Alaa in 2005. Kuramatas furniture designs are replete with both the fascinating history of Japanese decorative arts and the modern eagerness for Japanese structural simplicity akin to the dogma of form follows function. Now, the Fondation Alaa presents 23 of Kuramatas works alongside 20 of Alaas haute couture creations, creating a synthesis of forms and materials. The lurex knit of a simple gown responds to the knitted metal mesh of a chair, while the transparent acrylic of a shelf unit echoes the feather-light muslin of a runwayreader creation. Each imbued with a great sense of lightness, the pieces showcased here represent both artists shared interest in abstraction.