Azzedine Alaïa, designer

This top falls gently off the shoulders, its knit bottom clinging tightly at the waist. A keyhole slit at the breastbone and another textured hole at the reverse invite peeks at normally hidden skin.

Trained as a sculptor, Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaïa dominated Parisian couture by clothing the female form with an architectural, anti-establishment approach. Celebrated as the “king of cling,” he showed that culture, comfort, modesty, and style can coexist. Alaïa brought sensitive care to how he worked with models, successfully altering the way Arab Muslim designers interact with the female body.