COLLECTING FASHION: ALEX CARL & CARLA SOZZANI

STYLIST ALEX CARL AND EDITOR CARLA SOZZANI TELL STORIES THROUGH ICONIC DESIGN.

By Libby Hsieh

Alex Carl, stylist and author of Rizzoli’s Collecting Fashion, understands that every garment carries its own story. A coat might invoke memories of smoking on a balcony on a cold winter’s night; a pair of boots, a significant walk across a plaza. Clothing is not merely a possession, but something that is alive. Alex’s book is an assemblage of some of the most important fashion archives to date, from that of Michèle Lamy to Sarah Andelman to Zaha Hadid, connecting decades of garments to the lives lived through them.

In a similar vein, Carla Sozzani’s practice is defined by storytelling. Whether that be words on a page or an art exhibition, her decades of curation represent a lifelong love affair with beauty. Her fashion archive appears amongst those of the other giants in Alex’s book. For Beyond Noise, the pair discuss what it is to keep these pieces alive.