'King of Cling' fashion designer Azzedine Alaia dies at 77

PARIS - Tunisian-born fashion designer Azzedine Alaia, who dressed famous women from Hollywood to the White House, has died at the age of 77 on Saturday.

Alaia moved from Tunisia to Paris in 1957 and worked for Guy Laroche, Christian Dior and Thierry Mugler before founding his own label.

The couturier was a star of the Paris fashion world in the 1980s and 1990s, when models Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell strode down the catwalks in his trademark figure-hugging designs.

Dubbed the “King of Cling”, his dresses were worn by former U.S. first lady Michele Obama, pop singer Madonna and French actress Marion Cotillard.

News of his death sparked a flurry of tributes from figures in the fashion and entertainment worlds.

https://twitter.com/victoriabeckham/status/931895133091586048

https://twitter.com/IAMFASHlON/status/931890942633828352

https://twitter.com/okjanelle/status/931860594231267328

https://twitter.com/ladygaga/status/932052113403908096

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https://twitter.com/sonamakapoor/status/931891841544409094

https://twitter.com/VVFriedman/status/931874083989544960

UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay, a former French culture minister, said Alaia was a “genius weaving links between fashion, architecture and sculpture, creating dresses to highlight women’s bodies”.

Alaia final show in July 2017, was opened by supermodel Naomi Campbell one of his protegees who affectionately knew him as “Papa”.