PARIS (AFP) - The last collection of fashion legend Azzedine Alaia will be shown in Paris next year, his couture house said.

The Tunisian-born designer, known as the King of Cling for the way his clothes hugged the body, died suddenly last month, reportedly of heart failure after falling down the stairs at his home in Paris.

Since then, rumours have swirled about the future of his label.

But the couture house said on Monday that it would continue, showing the last ready-to-wear clothes and accessories he created in the French capital in January and March.

"The multiple talents that make up the Alaia family - of which some have worked with him for more than 30 years - will stay with the house in this new era," the statement said.

"This family will continue the vision and style of Mr Alaia, a timeless beauty that will take shape every day in his studios," it added.

The diminutive maverick, who ignored fashion week convention by showing when and where he wanted, produced his first couture collection in six years in July to rapturous reviews.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, his long-time muse who led that collection down the catwalk, cried at his graveside in Tunis.

Alaia, 77, trained as a sculptor and used his fine art training to sculpt with needle and thread. A retrospective of his work will open at the Design Museum in London in May when the brand will also open its first British boutique.