Interview

SSB: Who are the designers from the past-maybe the ones you collect-that inspire you?

AA: All the big ones who have left their mark and who play a big role in the history of fashion. Vionnet is important. Paul Poiret, very important. If you want to even start with Marie-Antoinette . . . things from the 18th or 19th centuries . . .

SSB: But in the 20th century?

AA: The 1950s. That was a good fashion period. And at the end there was Dior, there was Schiaparelli. I knew Schiaparelli. She had a house in Tunis. And I loved Balenciaga. His work goes well with Spanish painting, with Goya.

SSB: Which designer influenced you the most?

AA: Vionnet. But when I started, it was Dior and Balenciaga.

SSB: I know you can't name your favorite film, but what about favorite films for fashion?

AA: There have been things that have inspired me a lot. The chain mail in The Devil's Envoys [1942]. The zip-up dress in Hôtel du Nord [1938]. It's really because the actress Arletty [Arlette-Léonie Bathiat], who was in both of those films, had a particular spirit. She was very intelligent.

SSB: Which costume designer did you admire the most?

AA: Adrian was fantastic. I have a lot of Adrian in my collection. The film I like most that Adrian did was The Great Ziegfeld [1936]. The way he dressed those women!

SSB: Now let's talk a little bit about the foundation you're starting. It's based on your archives, but you'll also have exhibitions?

AA: Yes, and not only on fashion, but on photography, design, painting . . . First I have to archive everything. I will also have every single one of my own collections-in several variations. Your name is there in some of the dresses.

SSB: Oh, yes?

AA: I almost always put in every dress the name of the model who wore it . . . And the foundation will also help young people. Because they don't learn tailoring in school anymore, only drawing.

SSB: That's a shame.

AA: I didn't learn to sew at all! I didn't go to any school. But when I see things, I'm curious to know how they evolved. So young people will be able to see from the work there.

SSB: I remember when I was modeling for you, all of the girls fought over your clothes. We didn't want to be paid a fee. We wanted the dresses, the jackets . . . We left with a lot of your clothes in big bags! I thought I would take one dress but I'd end up leaving with 20.

AA: I gave you clothes because you gave me your time . . . The models didn't ask at first. I was the one to give the clothes to them.

SSB: Everybody was fighting for the clothes. Linda, Christy, Naomi, Tatiana . . .

AA: Yasmin . . .

SSB: It was a frenzy. One of your early assistants, Eric, was the only one who could find the right size for you. They were all in little boxes. You had to wait your turn and you had to pray that they didn't run out of sizes, because all the girls wore the same sizes. It was fantastic! And everybody would say: "You haven't gone yet? There's not going to be anything left!" [Alaïa laughs] And your work now is better than ever. It has become more and more beautiful, more perfectionist. You're never satisfied.

AA: I'm happier about my friends than I am about my work. I still have a long way to go with work. My friends, that's the one thing I'm sure about.

SSB: Don't forget about your daughters, Papa-all of us girls who you took so much care of. And your grandchildren.

Read our interview with Maison Martin Margiela