Azzedine Alaïa must have been feeling intoxicated off his recent acceptance into the Syndical when he decided to take on none other than Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor in chief, the woman who decides what the women of the world are going to be wearing each season. Here’s what he had to say about her.
"I said it before. She runs the business [of Vogue] very well, but not the fashion part. When I see how she is dressed, I don’t believe in her tastes one second. I can say it loudly! She hasn’t photographed my work in years even if I am a best seller in the US and I have 140 square meters at Barneys. American women love me; I don’t need her support at all. Anna Wintour doesn’t deal with pictures; she is just doing PR and business, and she scares everybody. But when she sees me, she is the scared one. [Laughs.] Other people think like me, but don’t say it because they are afraid that Vogue won’t photograph them. Anyway, who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one. Take Diana Vreeland, she is remembered because she was so chic. What she did with the magazine was great, with Avedon and all the great photographers. Vogue remains while its fashion editors come and go."
His resentment of Ms. Wintour runs deep. He snubbed the Wintour-run Costume Institute Gala in 2009 because he felt his work should have been included in the exhibit. Last week, Alaïa put on his first show since 2003 at the very end of couture week. Alaïa reportedly banned all the Vogue editors from attending his show, and Anna Wintour reportedly banned her staff from going, according to the Telegraph.
He seems to be banning, snubbing, and rejecting so many big names recently. He allegedly was offered yet turned down the position at Dior, and he recently turned down the Légion d’honneur medal. His reasons for this latest snub? “I refused because I don’t like decorations - except on women” He then went on to hammer his point that designers are overworked, and should be more like him, turning down offers.
“Designers working for big houses like Dior or Vuitton have no time to reflect. We can’t just squeeze the young talents out like lemons and then throw them away. It’s a shame talents are being abused for this. I really don’t understand that. I have to live as well. That’s what life is about: living. Tell me how these designers who work for the major houses can have lives? How can they raise children if they are never home?"
