NOBLESSE
SOPHIE HICKS’ ZEITGEIST
October 2015
THE GUARDIAN
AZZEDINE ALAÏA COULDN'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAID WAS THE NEW MOOD
By Sophie Hicks. April 2018
Ahead of the first UK solo exhibition of the couturier’s work, former colleague Sophie Hicks remembers his exacting pursuit of fashion perfection.
I think the new Azzedine Alaïa exhibition at the Design Museum could have the same impact on fashion students that Sensation at the Royal Academy had on arts students in 1997. Azzedine, who died last November, isn’t particularly well known in England – he was very much Paris-based – so it should be a revelation for young people who haven’t seen his work.
I first became aware of Azzedine in 1981 or 82, when I was working as a fashion editor for British Vogue. We were tipped off about an interesting designer in Paris and a few of us from the magazine went to see his show. It was at his apartment in the 7th arrondissement and the catwalk was just the parquet floor with little chairs lined up on either side. I remember we were kept waiting a long time. Suddenly, there was this loud clap and the American model Janice Dickinson appeared, followed by 10 or 20 of the most beautiful women in the world.
We thought, who is this designer who can get these unbelievable models to walk through his apartment like this? New York was the centre of the fashion industry at the time and models of that calibre simply didn’t bother coming to Paris, but here they were, dressed up and looking incredible.
We were right up close so we could see the cut, the fabric, the attention to detail. We hadn’t really seen anything like it before. It was a completely new look, very tailored and fitted and very sexy – but sexy is not quite the right word. The outfits were incredibly empowering.
MAGAZINES
RIBA JOURNAL
1A EARL’S COURT SQUARE
By RIBA
May 2019
PIN-UP
SOPHIE HICKS – THE ALAÏA-CLAD STYLIST WHO REFITTED HERSELF AS AN ARCHITECT
By Emily King
Photographs by Andreas Larsson
Fall/Winter 09/10
ARCHITECTS’ JOURNAL
SOPHIE HICKS ARCHITECTS DESIGNS MINIMALIST CONCRETE HOUSE IN KENSINGTON
By Fran Williams
Photographs by Annabel Elston
February 2019
RIBA LONDON AWARDS 2019
1A EARL’S COURT SQUARE
By RIBA
Photograph by Annabel Elston
May 2019
FRAME
YOHJI YAMAMOTO FLAGSHIP STORE
By Chris Scott
Photographs by Johannes Marburg
May/Jun 2009
BOB MAGAZINE
YOHJI YAMAMOTO FLAGSHIP STORE, PARIS
by Lee Eunjung, Photographs by Johannes Marburg
DAILY TELEGRAPH
WHITE HEAT
By Sally Brampton
Photographs by Edina Van Der Wyck
April 25th, 1998
ANOTHER MAGAZINE
AN INTERVIEW WITH SOPHIE HICKS, FASHION’S ARCHITECT
Interview by Donatien Grau
Portrait by Tim Walker
November 2014
DEZEEN
SOPHIE HICKS CONCEALS “CONCRETE MONSTER”
By Alice Morby
Photography by Annabel Elston
September 2015