Four years after fashion icon Azzedine Alaïa’s death, the chief executive of his eponymous label, Myriam Serrano, has announced the appointment of a new creative director: Belgian designer Pieter Mulier. His first collection will be showcased during Spring/Summer 2022 Fashion Week.
“Azzedine Alaïa’s powerful vision has served as an inspiration, as he always sought to give the necessary time to innovative and enduring creation,” Mulier said in the statement. “It is with this tremendous sense of admiration and responsibility that I will seek to carry forward his legacy of celebrating femininity and placing women at the heart of creation. I look forward to meeting the valued Alaïa clients and friends, as well as the Alaïa Foundation, and to jointly shaping the future of this legendary Maison.”
While his name may be unfamiliar to many, you have definitely come across with his work, as the designer was previously the right-hand man of Raf Simons. Read on to get to know the new creative director better:
The designer was Raf Simons’s right-hand man
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Pieter Mulier started out as an intern at Raf Simons’s namesake brand in Belgium, before rising through the ranks to become the designer’s longstanding right-hand man. Mulier was there throughout Simons’s stint from Jil Sander to Christian Dior to Calvin Klein. At the latter brand’s debut show, the duo even took a joint bow at the end. However, when Simons joined Prada, Mulier did not follow.
His work speaks for himself
In a statement by the brand, CEO Serrano said: “Pieter stands out with remarkable technical talent and devotion to the craft, a sharp eye for construction and a sense of timeless beauty that is deeply ingrained in the creative approach of our Maison.”
Charming and sincere, with innovative technical skills to boot, his work ethic can be seen clearly in the 2014 documentary, Dior and I. In the film, Mulier’s role as the link between Simons and the atelier was showcased.
He’s well-loved among industry insiders
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Having been in the industry for almost 20 years, Mulier has developed connections with many fashion heavyweights. Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, Dior and Fendi’s Kim Jones, and supermodel Naomi Campbell were the first few to congratulate the designer on Instagram.
His other half is also in fashion
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Mulier’s partner, Matthieu Blazy was also on a similar journey. Having started out at Raf Simons as a senior designer, his resumé includes a four-year stint at Maison Margiela as its head designer, a two-year stint at Céline, and an almost three-year stint at Calvin Klein (he was part of Simons’s inner circle). In May last year, the French designer was appointed as the ready-to-wear design director at Bottega Veneta, assisting creative director Daniel Lee.
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