Azzedine Alaia at Palais Galliera, Paris.

Azzedine Alaïa is one of few designers who are able to face himself at all stages of creating a dress - from concept, to design and to implementation. The historic fashion museum, Palais Galliera in Paris opens this Saturday and after a four years of renovation-an exhibition dedicated to the work of Alaïa. The couturier is a true alchemist - all fabrics in his hands can become precious artworks.

Doors open on September 28 and will last until January 26. 70 of the most impressive garments will feature in this exhibition, from 1979 when he presented his first collection until today. Behind them will be the "Dance" by Henri Matisse.

His story is so fashinatimg as his clothes. His journey begins in Tunisia. His parents were farmers, and he was raised by his grandparents. At age of 15 entered the local Institute of Fine Arts. To finance his studies he had to work as couturier and through customers that meets there, earning a place in Dior and moves to Paris when he reaches 18. Five days later, looses his job and becomes a housekeeper at Comtesse de Blégiers house and so her friends, members of high society, becoming his first customers.

Alaïa creates clothes when he feels like it, and the shop in the Marais has his clothes from every decade of his career. "If I do not have a fixed length of cloth in my hand and a girl in front of me, I can not really have a lot of ideas," he explains. Anyway, he doesn't seem to be consistent with the "must do" of fashion: as he rejected the position of creative director at Dior after John Galliano's dismissal and he also did something that perhaps no one else has ever dared publicly: He criticized Anna Wintour. "Who will remember her at the fashion history?" He said in 2011. "Nobody."

Naomi Cambell - Alaia

Grace Jones with Alaia

Madonna - Alaia

Tina Turner - Alaia

Stephanie Seymour - Alaia

His dresses apply like a second skin without imprison or impede the form of the body and movement of a woman. He learned this skill by making costumes for the dancers at the cabaret Crazy Horse at the late 70s.