A much anticipated moment in the world of fashion has arrived. For the first time, enough of Azzedine Alaïa’s legendary private collection is being shown to give the public a taste of its magnitude. Before he died, in 2017, the Tunisian designer had accumulated around 20,000 pieces of clothing which he stored in cardboard boxes in his Parisian headquarters. The Palais Galliera presents 140 of them, providing viewers with fashion history as seen through Alaïa’s eyes. Olivier Sailler, the director of the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, told WWD that, “While other designers purchased houses and furniture and threw parties, [Alaïa] only bought dresses.” The couturier’s collection includes a great range of names. There are works by the 1930s surrealist Elsa Schiaparelli and the brilliant but difficult Charles James. If you are more interested in recent couture, don’t fret. John Galliano, Rei Kawakubo, and other contemporaries have places in the show. —Jeanne Malle