Christian Dior Couture has released a new documentary on its official YouTube channel, exploring the private Dior archive painstakingly assembled by couturier Azzedine Alaïa across his lifetime. Centered on more than 600 Dior pieces, the film launches alongside the exhibition “Azzedine Alaïa’s Dior Collection” at La Galerie Dior in Paris, open until 17 May 2026.
A Lifetime of Collecting Dior
From the late 1950s, Azzedine Alaïa began quietly acquiring couture, ultimately building an archive of an estimated 20,000–22,000 garments. Within that, around 600 designs by Dior now sit at the heart of the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation in Paris, including looks that the house itself no longer holds. His connection to Dior dates back to 1956, when the Tunisian-born designer briefly worked in the Avenue Montaigne ateliers and developed an enduring admiration for Christian Dior’s volumes and construction.
The new documentary, “Creating the exhibition ‘Azzedine Alaïa’s Dior Collection’”, follows the Dior Heritage and Galerie Dior teams as they open crates, restore pieces, and curate the final selection for display.
Inside La Galerie Dior
Staged at La Galerie Dior, 11 rue François‑Ier in the 8th arrondissement, the exhibition runs from 20 November 2025 to 17 May 2026. Curated by Olivier Saillard with Gaël Mamine, it presents over 100 looks selected from the archive and arranged not strictly chronologically but in visual “chapters” that move from garden inspired daywear to sculptural evening gowns. Pieces from Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, and John Galliano are placed in conversation, highlighting the continuities and ruptures that Alaïa himself identified as a collector. Mannequins are grouped in dense tableaux that give a sense of walking through Alaïa’s storage spaces, rather than a conventional museum display.
A Companion Show at the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation
Across the river, the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation at 18 rue de la Verrerie is hosting a companion exhibition, “Azzedine Alaïa and Christian Dior, Two Masters of Haute Couture”, running until 24 May 2026. This show features around 30 Christian Dior designs collected by Alaïa, shown alongside a similar number of his own pieces to examine parallels in line, structure, and the sculpting of the female silhouette. Together, the two exhibitions and the documentary form a three part narrative about how a designer who became a legend in his own right chose to study, preserve, and reinterpret the work of another.
