Join very special guests Carla Sozzani and Olivier Saillard in conversation with Condé Nast corporate photography director Ivan Shaw as they honor the memory of two legendary designers: Azzedine Alaïa and Gilbert Adrian.

Both personal friends of Alaïa (1935–2017), Sozzani and Saillard will reflect on the designer’s life and work, from his beginnings studying sculpture in Tunisia in the 1950s to his rise as an internationally acclaimed designer and his obsession with perfecting fit and form in his garments. Alaïa’s passion for preserving fashion history inspired his expansive personal collection of defining garments, including the work of Gilbert Adrian (1903–1959), the head of costume design for MGM in the Golden Age of Hollywood, who was widely known for his fanciful designs for The Wizard of Oz. Sozzani and Saillard will give shape to the designers’ intertwined and enduring legacies and their love for the art of tailoring.

This event is located at SCADshow, 173 14th St. NE, Atlanta, Georgia. It is presented on the occasion of the exhibition Alaïa-Adrian: Masters of Cut, on view Feb. 11–Sept. 13.

Masters of Cut is curated by Olivier Saillard and organized for SCAD FASH by Rafael Gomes, director of fashion exhibitions. SCAD FASH is honored to host Alaïa’s first posthumous U.S. museum exhibition, nearly 20 years after his last stateside show.

This event is free and open to the public.

About the speakers

Carla Sozzani was the founding editor-in-chief of Italian Elle and editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia special editions. In 1986 she was named American Vogue’s editor-at-large for Italy. In 1990 Sozzani opened the Galleria Carla Sozzani at 10 Corso Como in Milan. Intended originally as an exhibition space, it quickly expanded, selling books, fashion, and design wares and adding a garden, hotel, and café. Through various partnerships, there are now branches of 10 Corso Como in Milan, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and New York. Sozzani is currently president of the Association Azzedine Alaïa.

Olivier Saillard is a fashion historian and archivist who has been curating fashion exhibitions for more than two decades. Saillard is the former director of the Palais Galliera in Paris. He is currently the director of the Association Azzedine Alaïa, where he heads efforts to catalog Alaïa’s extensive collection and present exhibitions to the public.

Photograph of Azzedine Alaïa by Gilles Bensimon, 1990. Courtesy Association Azzedine Alaïa. Photograph of Gilbert Adrian courtesy Association Azzedine Alaïa.