Which Tunisian-born French designer was known as the 'King of Cling'?

Azzedine Alaïa was the Tunisian-born French designer known as the “King of Cling.”

Alaïa earned the nickname for sculptural, body-conscious clothes that fit like a second skin. He worked extensively with stretch jersey, Lycra, knitted fabrics, and leather, using seams, bias cuts, and carefully engineered panels to emphasize the natural shape of the body rather than hide it.

His approach drew inspiration from Madeleine Vionnet and from his own training in sculpture. During the 1980s, his fitted dresses and highly constructed separates helped redefine the fashionable silhouette and contributed to the era’s celebration of powerful, curvy supermodels. Naomi Campbell became one of his most famous protégées and supporters.

Hervé Léger is an understandable mix-up because his later bandage dresses also became synonymous with tight, body-wrapping fashion. Alaïa, however, developed his own body-conscious language earlier and across a much broader range of materials and garments. His influence continued long after the 1980s because his designs were built around the body rather than short-lived seasonal trends.