When Azzedine Alaïa passed away in 2017, he left huge shoes to fill. And now, the maison that still bears his name has announced his successor: Pieter Mulier.
Long known as Raf Simons’s right-hand man, Mulier followed Simons from house to house, with stints at Jil Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein. But just as Simons is embarking on a new journey at Prada, Mulier is carving his own path as the new creative director at Alaïa , a house so legendary that he’ll have plenty of room to move into a spotlight all his own.
“Pieter stands out with remarkable technical talent and devotion to the craft, a sharp eye for construction and a sense of timeless beauty that is deeply ingrained in the creative approach of our Maison,” said Alaïa CEO Myriam Serrano in a release. “He combines these qualities with keen intellect, true generosity and unwavering humanity, which fills me with the greatest confidence in his creative leadership and innovative powers.”
Mulier will take the reigns at the house immediately, with his first collection debuting for Spring 2022. He’s hinted already that he’s grateful for the example Azzedine Alaïa set by showing on his own timescale rather than being pressured by the industry into releasing things at an ever more dizzying pace.
“Always ahead of his time and open to all arts and cultures, Azzedine Alaïa’s powerful vision has served as an inspiration, as he always sought to give the necessary time to innovative and enduring creation,” Mulier said. “It is with this tremendous sense of admiration and responsibility that I will seek to carry forward his legacy of celebrating femininity and placing women at the heart of creation.”
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