ALAIA

Alaïa's Mina tote carries the Vienne pattern, the house openwork inspired by lace and moucharabieh screens, cut through its whole body and finished in a scalloped top edge. At 37cm it is the largest of the family, in chocolate haircalf with smooth leather handles and gold-toned feet. On the shoulder, it brings the house's lacework to an everyday scale.

Alaïa cuts the Vienne belt's perforation from a pattern inspired by precious lace and moucharabieh screens, worked deep and scalloped through black calfskin. A thin buckle closes it at centre front. Structural rather than decorative, it reads as armour softened into lacework.

Alaïa cuts the Vienne belt's perforation from a pattern inspired by precious lace and moucharabieh screens, worked deep and scalloped through chocolate haircalf. A thin buckle closes it at centre front. Structural rather than decorative, it reads as armour softened into lacework.

Alaïa cuts the Vienne belt's perforation from a pattern inspired by precious lace and moucharabieh screens, worked deep and scalloped through cerise haircalf. A thin buckle closes it at centre front. Structural rather than decorative, it reads as armour softened into lacework.

The Vienne pattern, drawn from lace and moucharabieh screens, is Alaïa's signature openwork, and here it is cut through black suede from toe to collar. Elastic gussets make it a Chelsea boot; a pointed toe and a 100mm curved stiletto make it an evening one. A pull loop sits at the back.

Alaïa's ballet flat takes its line from classical Japanese shoes: a low square front, an open vamp and a strap across the instep. Cerise fishnet makes up the body, with the binding, strap and insole cut from crocodile-embossed calfskin in the same red. A silver-toned buckle and a rubber sole finish it.

Alaïa flattens Le Teckel into a clutch: 31cm long, 10cm high, carried by two short tubular handles finished with decorative ties. Black goat suede runs over the whole body, with a double zip along the top and a removable mirror in the inside pocket. The nap absorbs the light, so the shape does the work.

Named for the dachshund, Le Teckel is drawn long and low, and the small size holds that proportion at 27cm. Alaïa works it in mist nubuck, piped at the seams, with two rolled straps caught through a leather loop and a double zip running the length of the top. A removable mirror tucks into the inside pocket.

Alaïa builds the heart from a single cut of calfskin, the seam down the centre giving the shape its volume without a panel or a gusset. A zip runs across the top and the slim strap adjusts for the shoulder or across the body. Rouge grenat is a dark garnet that shows its red only where the light catches the curve.

Alaïa builds the heart from a single cut of calfskin, the seam down the centre giving the shape its volume without a panel or a gusset. A zip runs across the top and the slim strap adjusts for the shoulder or across the body. In black the outline reads as geometry before it reads as a heart.

Alaïa's heart bag, cut here from goatskin in two finishes: a matte suede face against a smoother, glossier strap and trim. A single zip crosses the top, and the long strap adjusts from the shoulder to across the body. Lichen sits between grey and green, which keeps a heart-shaped bag from reading as sweet.

Le Coeur is Alaïa's heart in three dimensions, its two faces seamed down the centre and zipped along the top. This one is covered in cerise calf-hair, with the strap, tabs and trim cut from smooth calfskin in the same red and a gold-toned pull at each end. The nap shifts from wine to raspberry as it turns.

Alaïa builds this cardigan the way the house builds a dress: close through the body, then released. The rib runs vertically from a high funnel collar to a waist shaped by knitted darts, where it opens into a short peplum. A two-way gold-toned zip closes the front, so it can be left open at the hem.

Alaïa treats tailoring as construction rather than decoration: a deep flat waistband sits high, curved pockets extend across the front in place of a yoke, and the leg drops straight from the hip. The cloth is a light tailoring wool, lined in cupro. A side seam zip keeps the front unbroken.

Alaïa's rib is engineered rather than simply knitted. On this sleeveless dress it runs vertically through a crew-neck bodice, then turns at the hips and fans out horizontally into a flared skirt. The change of direction does the tailoring, drawing in the waist without a seam in sight, and the wool blend has enough weight to hold the flare.

Alaïa calls this the sculpting pointed dress, and the knit does the sculpting. A sheer, fine-gauge yoke and high neck sit above a close ribbed bodice; below the waist the ribs widen into a full, pleated skirt that falls to deep points at the hem. In burgundy the rib reads almost like pleated silk.

Alaïa cuts this dress in stretch velvet and lets the seams do the shaping: two curved lines sweep over the hips and hold the silhouette close. A square neckline and wide shoulder straps keep the top plain, and the skirt runs straight to mid-calf. Bottle green gives the pile a dark, glassy depth.

From the same stretch velvet as Alaïa's bodycon dresses, this one is cut for movement. A high funnel neck and sleeveless bodice fit close to the hip, where godets break into a skirt of deep flounces that drop to handkerchief points. The pile catches the light unevenly as it moves, which is the reason to cut velvet this way.

- V neckline
- Cap sleeves
- Invisible zip closure
- Integrated knot belt
- Bias-cut
- Gathered from the waist down
- Midi length
- Fit & flare

Alaïa's A-line trench is cut from pony-hair calfskin, the short, glossy hair lying flat and catching light across every panel. A pointed collar, raglan sleeves and a concealed button placket keep the front clean, with welt pockets set into the seams, and the body swings out from the shoulders to midi length. The rouge runs deep and even across the hide.