Alaïa Paris

Alaïa Paris is the fragrance line of the French couture house Alaïa, created by the Tunisian-French couturier Azzedine Alaïa. The house is based in Paris and is part of the Richemont group, while its perfumes and cosmetics are produced under license by Shiseido's Beauté Prestige International. The fashion house remains active, though its fragrance line has not introduced a new scent since 2017.

Accounts of the house's beginnings differ. Richemont, its current owner, dates the founding to 1964 in Paris [4]; Wikipedia records that Alaïa opened his first atelier, in his rue de Bellechasse apartment, in 1979 [3]. The two dates describe different moments — the founding of the house and the opening of that first studio — rather than a settled dispute.

Azzedine Alaïa was born in Tunis in 1935 and worked as a couturier and shoe designer. His clothing became known for close-fitting, body-conscious construction, and the house that carries his name grew out of that reputation. He continued to lead the label for decades, and after his death the house preserved its archive through the Azzedine Alaïa Association, established in 2007.

Alaïa passed through several hands over its history. The label signed a partnership with the Prada group in 2000, and in July 2007 Alaïa bought back his house and brand name from Prada [3]. That same year the Richemont group — the owner of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels — took a stake in the house [3]. Richemont continues to list Alaïa among its Maisons.

The beauty side is run separately under license. In January 2013, Beauté Prestige International, the Paris-based subsidiary of Shiseido, signed a 13-year exclusive agreement to create, manufacture and distribute perfumes and cosmetics under the Alaïa name worldwide [5][9]. Financial terms were not disclosed. Through Shiseido, Alaïa Paris sits alongside sister names such as Clé de Peau Beauté, NARS, Serge Lutens, Narciso Rodriguez and Drunk Elephant.

Richemont describes Alaïa as "a couture soul," a house built on exceptional savoir-faire and what it calls essential purity [4]. The owner frames the founder's approach as sculpting garments to celebrate the female form "with radical clarity and intimacy." The fragrance line is positioned at the luxury end of the market, with its eaux de parfum sold through the house's own e-commerce channel and other retail.

The first Alaïa perfume, named Alaïa Paris, launched in 2015 in collaboration with Beauté Prestige International [3]; the perfumer was Marie Salamagne. The fragrance range has since grown to include Alaïa Paris Eau de Parfum Blanche and Alaïa Paris Eau de Parfum Nude, alongside scented candles. These eau de parfum releases remain the core of the beauty offering.

The Alaïa fashion house is active, with recent runway collections and an ongoing change of creative leadership: Pieter Mulier presented his final Alaïa collection in 2026 before leaving to join Versace [8]. The founder, Azzedine Alaïa, died in Paris in 2017 at the age of 82 [3]. The fragrance line remains in worldwide distribution, but its newest scent dates to 2017, so the beauty line is best understood as in-market rather than actively expanding.