Talk about a very rare tag team in fashion. This fall, La Galerie Dior and the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation are joining forces to present an exceptional double exhibition in Paris, highlighting the figure of Azzedine Alaïa, collector and admirer of Christian Dior.

As has become increasingly apparent since his passing in 2017, Alaïa had built, during his eventful life, a significant heritage collection of the very greatest couturiers — among which Dior occupies a special place, with some 600 pieces now carefully preserved by the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation.

More than a hundred of these will be unveiled for the first time at La Galerie Dior, emphasizing the designer’s admiration for Christian Dior and for his successors, from Yves Saint Laurent to John Galliano.

In parallel, the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation is presenting a unique exhibition of works by these two “masters of couture” at its Paris venue in the edgy Marais district of Paris.

Alaïa, who was actually hired by Dior for just a few days in 1956, had retained memories of the demanding workshops on Avenue Montaigne, at whose intersection La Galerie Dior is located.

Around thirty Christian Dior designs collected by Azzedine Alaïa will be displayed alongside a similar number of his own creations.

“Demonstrating how the influence of the inventor of the New Look was expressed in the work of the French couturier of Tunisian origin,” said Dior in a release with the Alaïa Foundation.

Curated by the highly respected fashion curator Olivier Saillard, in collaboration with Gaël Mamine, this dual exhibition offers a new interpretation of the history of the House of Dior through the eyes of a discerning collector, while also revealing a series of captivating correspondences between Christian Dior and Azzedine Alaïa.

Two monumentally talented designers from very different provincial milieus and social backgrounds, who marched to glory in la mode parisienne — even if, ironically, there was a link in their fathers’ professions: Azzedine’s was a wheat farmer, and Christian’s a wealthy fertilizer manufacturer.