This quintessential Alaïa gown was made in his French atelier from a navy acetate that has been cut on the bias. This piece has a distinctive draped hood and a long zipper that spirals around the body from the front neckline, descending down the back and curving over the right hip, following the seam lines. The bias cut panels are constructed with flat seams which contour the body. There is a back vent with the train, while the skirt is narrow with a mermaid hem and rear kick slit.
Another version of this dress was famously worn by Grace Jones for “James Bond 007: A View to Kill” in 1985, directed by John Glen.
The dress here today was worn by Bella Hadid for the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize Award Ceremony on October 26, 2022 at The National Museum of Qatar in Doha.
It was worn again by Cara Delevingne on March 5, 2026 for the 37th Annual GLAAD Medica Awards in Los Angeles.
Similar dresses from the same Fall/Winter 1986-87 collection are in the collections of:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, Paris
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix
A similar dress from the same year, without zippers was exhibited at:
A. Bolton, About Time: Fashion & Duration, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2020, pp. 118, 119,121
Paris, Palais Galliera, Alaia, September 20 2013 - January 19, 2014
A similar dress from the same year, without zippers was exhibited at:
Paris, Fondation Azzedine Alaia, Alaia Before Alaia, January 28 - December 31, 2022
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, About Time: Fashion and Duration, curated by Andrew Bolton, May 7, 2020 - September 7, 2020
London, The Design Museum, Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier, May 10 - October 7, 2018.
Paris, Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, Azzedine Alaïa: Je Suis Couturier, curated by Olivier Saillard, January 22 - June 10, 2018.
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Fashion Forward, 3 Centuries of Fashion (1715-2016), April 7 - August 14, 2016
Paris, Fondation Azzedine Alaia, Azzedine Alaia et l’Afrique, July 7, 2026 - January 7, 2027
New York, Museum at FIT, Dress, Dreams, and Desire: Fashion and Psychoanalysis, Curated by Dr. Valerie Steele, September 10, 2025 - January 4, 2026
New York, Museum at FIT, Form Follows Fashion, October 6, 2004 - December 31, 2004
New York, Museum at FIT, 50 Years of Fashion, 1947 - 1997, October 7, 1997 - January 10, 1998
Materials: Acetate
Measurements:
Center back length (excluding hood): 65”
Center front length: 50”
Sleeve inseam: 19”
Hood length: 15”
Hips: 31”
Shoulder to shoulder (flat): 20”
White rectangular label with ALAIA Paris stitched on the inside back of the dress
