Medium: Green acetate knit

Date: Winter 1986

Country: France

Credit: Gift of Azzedine Alaia In Memory of Arthur Englander

This “Mermaid” dress covers the figure literally from head to toe, while the zipper that wraps around it ensures an exact fit and demonstrates Azzedine Alaia’s talent for unique construction. The clinging, unforgiving knit fabric strongly reflects the fitness-crazed 1980s’ preoccupation with slim, flawless figures. Alaia trained as a sculptor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Tunis; his well-developed sense of the human form is intrinsic to his figure-revealing clothing.

Object Number: 87.3.2