Whilst Lindbergh’s reputation in Germany was growing, notably thanks to his work in the magazine Stern, and he set up his studio in Paris in 1978, Alaïa was the couturier shrouded in discretion whose sophisticated techniques were a secret whispered amongst the most important clients of Haute Couture. Both men shared a taste for grand horizons, whether of the Mediterranean or of the North, and where the use of solid blacks often creates a complicit dialogue. The architecture of Duisburg, an industrial and commercial town, provided the photographer’s setting, as did the Dutch beaches that he visited frequently. The white chalk façades that reflect the shadows of passers-by became a part of Alaïa’s Tunisia. Azzedine Alaïa studied in the sculpture department of the Beaux-Arts in Tunis, the town where the couturier grew up. Raised in Duisburg, a town located in Germany, at a looking distance from the Netherlands, Peter Lindbergh trained at the Krefeld School of Applied Arts.
Despite their geographically opposed origins, Lindbergh and Alaïa pursued similar horizons.
