Pieter Mulier - Designer, Creative Director of Alaïa

[Olaffo]

Pieter Mulier has been appointed as creative director of Alaïa.

https://wwd.com/fashion-news/design...Id=5&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s

 

[Marc10]

 

[JohannesL]

Bad choice! I would rather have Alaia stay the same until they finally find a new talent to interpret le maestro's archives. The idea of Pieter helming Alaia is as bad as Raf helming Prada/CK. On second thought, maybe he will surprise us, won't he?

 

[perhydrol]

It's a weird choice because Pieter's work usually feels cold and rather distant. He works more on the visual side of the whole look instead of focusing on small details. On the contrary, Alaia was known for his intelligently sensual pieces and sharp cut. Was this appointment worth being awaited for? I don't think so. I just hope he won't bring the nonsense to the house.

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

Naomi must be laughing out loud right now.

(or crying ?)

 

[GERGIN]

I'm gonna hold my breathe, and also my gas, until I see the final product.

 

[THD96]

Maybe this is the reason why he didn't go with Raf for Prada. We have to wait and see then, but I won't get my hope too high. I just hope he won't serve us something too pretentious because that the opposite of what Mr. Alaïa stand for.

I was hoping Phoebe Philo if they want to update the house archive. She is the best minimalist and modernist among her peers. The way she elevated and breath in glamour and sophistication into everyday clothes combine with rich textures and techniques in Alaïa archive that could be a perfect match.

 

[Lola701]

I feel like a lot you all have a different image of what Alaia has been for less than a decade now. Tbh totally honest, even before the master died, the house was rather sexless... Some seasons, it was almost Junior-like.

What is great about Alaia is the idea of what it was...Because in terms of clothing, it’s an expected and appreciated vocabulary.

I’m actually curious to see what he can do. I just hope that he will continue to collaborate with Alaia’s collaborators: Carlyne, McKenna, Paolo Roversi. I don’t want to see neither Rizzo or Vanderperre enter that sanctuary...

I wonder if Alber wasn’t offered the position and declined to launch the whatever « revolutionary » operation he launched last week. Because Alaia is about shaping the body and there’s a huge fabric development on knitwear too...

I’m going with open mind this time. But he better deliver for his first collection! Richemont is not French and journalists won’t eat their words this time! Even more considering how revered Alaia is here!

 

[Salvatore]

This is a very weird and unexpected choice and I don't have any expectations. I am curious, but considering he belonged to the Raf crew, I feel it can be very bad. We will see.

 

[jeanclaude]

At least he is not shirtless in his official pics...

 

[bc collector]

Despite Mulier's involvement with the Dior and CK fiascos, I want to keep an open mind and see what happens. I have a feeling that the CEO (and Carla Sozzani, whose opinion must have mattered) did not hire him randomly.
Also, I think it's rather harsh to dismiss him straight away, since so far he's always been assistant to Raf and he's never been given a chance to show what his personal vocabulary really is. For all we know, he might as well be another Van Ommeslaeghe, a genius in the shadow of his Master.

 

[TaylorBinque]

I really am open mined for this choice. I do think he also has something to prove. I feel like this is the time for him to step out of Raf's shadow and finally show his true visions. Or maybe I will be wrong. But Alaia is no Fendi or Givenchy. If he screw up, people and the press will eat him alive.

 

[donyan]

this feels like a good choice to me. Whenever I see Alaia in stores it feels dusty and dated, even though the craftsmanship is still great. He might be able to make it feel desirable and and a little more up to date.

 

[Lola701]

Now that I think about him and Raf’s enduring obsession over Helmut Lang, I just hope that his interpretation of Alaia won’t be just an endless variation of Lang’s SS2001 collection.

He has more than six months to prepare the collection, which is very rare nowadays.

 

[tatouejeremie]

He has more than six months to prepare the collection, which is very rare nowadays.

Might be even longer as in an interview with WWD the CEO of Alaia said they want to stick to Azzedine's way of presenting collections, so whenever they feel it's ready.

This guy must have the best job in the business right now.

I wish him the best but I've got very low expectations.
He's just another fashion person with all the same cliche interests as all other fashion people, with the same friends from the same tired backgrounds.
His only work experience has been with Raf, I doubt he'll surprise us.

I wonder if Hideki Seo will remain on the team, he worked right alongside Azzedine for such a long time.

 

[GivenchyAddict]

^Same feeling.

And this metal bracelet is so much...there that I wonder if this is just some preview. If yes, he can keep it.

 

[perhydrol]

EXCLUSIVE: Pieter Mulier to Make Alaïa Debut Day Before Paris Couture Week
The Belgian designer will unveil his first ready-to-wear and haute couture creations for Alaïa on July 4.

By Joelle Diderich on May 20, 2021

CURTAIN RAISER: Azzedine Alaïa was famously fond of showing his collections outside of the official calendar, but for his debut collection, his successor Pieter Mulier will take a more traditional path. His first creations are due to be unveiled on July 4 at 9 p.m. CET, on the eve of Paris Couture Week, the house said Thursday.

The event is sure to generate buzz, since it will be the first Alaïa runway show since the brand’s founder died in 2017 at the age of 77. It also marks the first solo outing for Mulier, the longtime right hand of designer Raf Simons at Jil Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein, who was named in February to breathe new creative life into the label.

“The date itself also carries special meaning for the maison as the presentation will be held exactly four years after Azzedine Alaïa‘s last show in July 2017,” the brand said in a statement.

Alaïa added that it will jointly present its ready-to-wear collection and couture creations “for the coming season.” Though the rtw line will drop for spring 2022, the house indicated it is rethinking its seasonal labeling.

In recent years, it had focused mainly on archival designs with collections such as The Editions, a wardrobe spanning 30 of the late designer’s most emblematic designs from 1981 to 2017, which launched in November.

Mulier’s debut will come ahead of two other hotly anticipated couture moments: the return of couture from Balenciaga, 53 years after Spanish master Cristóbal Balenciaga shuttered his house, and a one-off Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection created by Sacai’s Chitose Abe, the first of a series of guest creatives following the founder’s retirement from the runway in January 2020.

from wwd.com

 

[JohannesL]

In a world of mediocre designers, I am kind of looking forward to his debut!

 

[vogue28]

Alaïa’s latest collection to be unveiled tomorrow:

 

[Mutterlein]

Hope it's better than the last.