There’s always anticipation surrounding an Alaïa show, especially in the Pieter Mulier era. Over the past five years, the Belgian designer—the first to take the mantle following founder Azzedine Alaïa’s passing in 2017—has built on the brand’s legacy of sensual, body-hugging designs while simultaneously turning into one of fashion’s most reliable viral hit-makers. (You can thank him for all the pencil case-esque east-west bags on the market, following the success of Le Teckel.) Still, the Wednesday night Paris Fashion Week runway was different, because it was Mulier’s last.
Alaïa hasn’t announced a successor, as Mulier takes his talents to Versace. (The press release confirming Mulier’s departure simply stated: “The studio will ensure continuity in the interim period until a creative organization is confirmed.”) That put all the more weight behind the fall 2026 swan song. Mulier has achieved a lot since 2021: He expanded Alaïa’s brick-and-mortar footprint globally, opening its largest-ever flagship in Paris; he made the brand a fixture in rankings of hottest brands and products; he was honored with a CFDA Award. He’s carved the path for a new Alaïa woman, one that honors the foundation laid by its namesake and pushes the brand into the future with prescience.
In past seasons, Mulier has played with the classic Alaïa silhouette, enhancing curvature through sculptural elements, whether it’s tulip-like draping on skirts (as in spring 2026) or Elizabethan collars around shoulders and waists (fall 2025). This season, though, the designer pared things all the way back, staying close to the body in a way that calls to mind the brand founder’s reputation as the “King of Cling.” There were form-fitting tank dresses, tailored coats that cinch at the waist, long-sleeve jersey tops with wide knitted waistbands tucked into matching maxi skirts. Elsewhere, sensuality was conveyed with a “show don’t tell” mentality, covering up skin without hiding the shape of the body underneath.
The restraint of this collection—in shape, palette, and material—acts as a passing of the baton to the next creative team. Mulier’s touch is still present (in the clean lines, the flounce hems, the asymmetric petticoat skirts), but he leaves room for a new designer to build upon it with their own vision.
In front of a crowd that included Raf Simons, Matthieu Blazy, and, in a gorgeous full-circle moment, Alicia Silverstone, Mulier took his final bow. With this show, though, he reminded everyone that he—or any creative director—doesn’t operate in a silo. A brand’s output is the result of a collective effort (Mulier knows this, of course: He was Simons’s right-hand for many years, only stepping into the spotlight in the 2014 documentary Dior and I). So Alaïa hired photographer Keizo Kitajima to capture portraits of each member of the designer’s team, which were compiled into a book with a message from the outgoing designer.
“These are the people who build it. Bit by bit,” Mulier wrote. “They make the house alive. A collection is the result of their passion, time, taste, tears, and love. Never forget… One never works alone. My family. Thank you.”
