Miren Arzalluz

Rick Owens remains one of the most daring and influential fashion designers working today. Often described as 'a-grunge-meets-glamor' aesthetic, Owens has cultivated a devoted international following. In his creations, grace and grit are paired with an obsession with structural transformation and movement, where diaphanous, flowing shapes contrast with opaque forms and sharp edges, an approach to formal invention that is complimented by a mania for new and often exotic materials. Timed to coincide with the first comprehensive show of the designer s work taking place at the Palais Galliera in Paris in summer 2025, the scope and breadth of this exhibition promises to be a treat to both longtime fans and the uninitiated. Owens will reimagine the grand 19th-century palace housing the museum, with temporary installations that will serve as vitrines to his many creations. In effect dividing the book between the conception of showcases, and the precious objects that they display within, the curatorial essays bookending this visual narrative will attempt to describe the multidisciplinary, even architectural approach Owens has to his creations.

A stunning showcase of Azzedine Alaïa’s remarkable fashion collection, most published here for the first time. Azzedine Alaïa (1935–2017) was not only a world renowned fashion designer but also an avid collector of vintage fashion. Based on a major exhibition at the Palais Galliera, Paris, the book showcases the extensive collection he built up over the decades, driven by his fascination with the history of couture and his desire to conserve its heritage for future generations. Accumulated in the utmost secrecy and never revealed during his lifetime, the sumptuous selection of garments ranges from the 19th-century elegance of Jacques Doucet and the House of Worth to the names that shaped 20th-century fashion – Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior, Schiaparelli – and on to contemporary innovators such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander McQueen. Captured in specially taken photographs, these meticulously crafted pieces are a tribute to Alaïa’s unerring tastes, to the couturiers who inspired and influenced him, and to his endless respect for the craftspeople that created such objects of lasting beauty.

Cristóbal Balenciaga made his name in Paris in the 1940s and 1950s in the golden age of haute couture, and was hailed by Coco Chanel as ‘the only true couturier amongst us, able to design, cut, assemble and sew a dress entirely by himself.’ His clients included Princess Grace of Monaco and the Duchess ofWindsor. This book is published to mark the long awaited inauguration of the Balenciaga Museum in Getaria, Guipuzcoa, Spain, which will house a permanent collection of over 100 pieces created by the master designer. Four introductory articles by Balenciaga experts present new research and analysis of the designer’s work and assess his legacy, but at the heart of the book is a catalogue of the museum’s outstanding collection in over 500 wonderful illustrations. This beautiful book will be essential reading for both designers and anyone interested in Balenciaga's life and work.