Pieter Mulier Exits Alaïa After 5 Years

PARIS — Pieter Mulier is exiting Alaïa after a five-year run that thrust the Paris-based label back into the fashion conversation. His architectural, refined sensibility wowed insiders and fuelled sales growth.

In a statement on Friday, the Richemont-owned brand confirmed the designer’s departure, adding that “the studio will ensure continuity in the interim period until a creative organisation is confirmed.” Mulier is expected to head to Versace, acquired by Prada Group last year. His last collection for Alaïa will be shown in March.

An architecture graduate from the Brussels Institut Saint-Luc, Mulier drew on Alaïa’s essence while bringing his own view, sending models down the runway in looks that framed and exaggerated the body, experimenting with new shapes and materials while also calling back to mid-century couture glamour and the photos of Richard Avedon and Irving Penn.

One of his more surprising looks was a cocoon-like garment that enveloped everything from the arms to the knees while more sensual styles included slender, asymmetric gowns with hoods and thigh-high stockings topped with sweeping fringes.

Mulier introduced denim, offering jeans with rounded volumes but cinched at the waist, and tops with ruffled flares, nodding to the house’s famous Skater dress.

He developed accessories including early hits like a heart-shaped handbag and mesh ballerina flats with Mary Jane straps. The elongated Teckel bag has been another top seller.

Mulier’s appointment to the head of creative direction at Alaia in early 2021 came after nearly two decades working behind the scenes alongside Raf Simons at Simons’ namesake label, Jil Sander, Christian Dior and Calvin Klein. Serving as Simons’ right hand over the years, he brought a conceptual approach to commercial juggernauts, mixing graphic prints mined from contemporary art with streamlined silhouettes.

At Alaïa, Mulier faced the challenge of stepping into the spotlight for the first time as well as the delicate task of being the first head designer to succeed house founder Azzedine Alaïa. The Tunisian-born designer, who passed away in 2017, left volumes of archives and a fiercely dedicated group of followers. He was known for building his body-shaping garments with precise couturier skills, working until his death at age 82.

“It’s all about silhouette,” Mulier told BoF’s Tim Blanks about his vision for the house in 2022.

Mulier took home the CFDA’s prize for International Designer of the Year in December. He was introduced by Naomi Campbell, who said the Belgian’s designs captured the spirit of the founder – whom she famously called “Papa.”

“He understood that Alaïa was never about spectacle, it was about craft, about sculpture, about timeless beauty,” said Naomi Campbell.

“Pieter’s taken the legacy forward while truly making it his own,” Campbell said.

Richemont has gradually ramped up investment in Alaïa since its founder’s death, adding additional Paris flagships as well as outposts in New York, London, Beijing and more. But the brand remains tiny compared to the Swiss conglomerate’s highly-profitable jewellery houses including Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. The group also owns fashion labels Chloé and Dunhill.

Alaïa’s modest stature compared to industry heavyweights has allowed Mulier a certain freedom designing for the house, the designer said.

“There’s a hunger now for smaller companies that make radical decisions. We can do that because the collections are not big. We try to make statements in fashion shows because, otherwise, I don’t know why we would do them,” Mulier told Blanks in an interview in October.

“And it works, because people are fed up with the idea of luxury that is being pushed in their faces,” he added.

Stay tuned to BoF for updates on this developing story.