At 73 years old, perhaps no one designer knows the contours of a woman’s body as well as Paris-based designer Azzedine Alaïa. He’s dressed the very great style icons of our time: Greta Garbo (“Her rear is perfect!”), models Stephanie Seymour and Naomi Campbell, recording artists Janet Jackson and ex-French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld.

He does not work with trends, his garments invent them: eyelet cotton separates, full-bodied A-line skirts, hole-punched leather, bodycon lycra dresses, and sky-high heels. In Alaïa’s design world, timelessness and hand craftsmanship are constant.

Born in Tunisia, Alaïa studied sculpture at the École des Beaux Arts in Tunis and moved to Paris in 1957, where he worked for Christian Dior, Guy Laroche and Thierry Mugler before starting his own private atelier.

After twenty years, he opened his design studio to the public, and his status as ‘King of Cling’ was born. Alaïa designs for the every woman, “I adapt to what a woman’s body looks like…they want to feel beautiful, they want to look good, so that’s my job.” His inspirations range from Marilyn Monroe to Marie Antoinette and French noir films.

Owning an Alaïa is tantamount to stopping the fashionable clock of time. His collections are timeless. His seams narrate a provocative story, and his leatherwork says, “I’m here.” True Alaïa fans can visit his Rue de Moussy atelier in Paris’ Le Marais, or even stay in one of three rooms he designed as a hotel concept. In the meantime, wishful thinkers can shop his Spring/Summer 2012 collection now.

• 01. An Alaïa gown on display
• 02. Karolina Kurkova
• 03. Azzedine Alaïa with Stephanie Seymour
• 04. An Alaïa défilé
• 05. Naomi Campbell in an Alaïa creation