Groniger Museum is built on the water of the Verbindings Canal in Groningen, a town in the northern Netherlands. And now, the Groniger Museum presents its second Azzedine Alaïa retrospective, open to the public from  11 December 2011 to 6 May 2012. As the exhibition curator, Mark Wilson, pointed out – “Azzedine is one of the last great couturiers working today—I honestly felt I had no choice but to do a second exhibition.”

This retrospective, entitled “Azzedine Alaïa in the 21st Century”, displays the most fantastic fashion creations of designer’s last ten years. No need to talk about Alaïa’ s huge contribution to the fashion world… his form-fitting shapes, sculptural dresses, smart cuts, flawless surfaces. He’s a major couturier (probably the last one still in action), and he’s a rare bird in the fashion landscape, not only for his passion and perfectionism, but also for his personal attitude. His choice to stay away from the contemporary fashion game, his rejection of fast forward systems – it’s all about the wisdom and the honesty of a true createur. Alaïa’s work it’s an artist’s work, it’s all about searching, polishing the shape, experimenting with the fabrics, it’s about permanently exploring the intimate relationship between the dress and the woman’ s body.

Anyway, what I wanted to say is that this exhibition presents not only a bunch of beautiful clothes, but Alaïa’s most important achievement –  simplicity and timelessness.