Azzedine Alaïa achieved body control through different means, including stretch fabrics, seaming, and stays. He was fascinated by corsetry, which he added into body-hugging jackets, some paired with leggings (which he helped to popularize). Alaïa also drew attention to the waist by cinching it with obi-wide perforated leather belts. Countering their inherent stiffness was the designer’s use of a new material he developed with the Italian company Linepiu. Called Relax, the fabric, was a blend of rayon, nylon, and carbon. The carbon, reported the wire services at the time, “supposedly acts as an anti-static and anti-pollution agent because it repels electromagnetic fields and acts as a protective lining.” The hitch was that Alaïa used the material on provocative dresses with triangular patches provocatively located at the pubis, which were anything but low-key.
