Who? The Paris-based designer is famous for her melange of opposites. Her debut collection in 1985 made the fashion pack sit up and stare as models sashayed down the catwalk in bloomers and monk hoods to the sound of the Velvet Underground. Fashionistas all over the world are eagerly anticipating her spring-summer collection this autumn.

How did it happen? Sitbon was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, and moved to Paris at age 10. She studied couture at the Studio Bercot, which she graduated from in 1974. Her extensive travels over the next seven years took her to Hong Kong, Mexico and India, as well as New York and Milan, and inspired her later use of unconventional textiles. After returning to Paris she established her own fashion house. From 1988 to 1992 she lent her skills to Chloe's ready-to-wear collection and also introduced a lower-range line of clothing called Martine Sitbon Fantasy. She took her androgynous approach to Byblos from 2001 until April 2002 when she left to concentrate wholly on her own label.

What are the clothes like? Her collections have encompassed everything from punk meets sci-fi to masculine meets feminine and oddly matched fabrics. Tailored clothes are often combined with flea-market chic. With David Bowie and the Rolling Stones among her influences, it comes as no surprise her clothes often have a rock-star aesthetic. Her latest works have moved away from the more sombre colours of old and embrace a more romantic feeling, with fluttery sleeves and lingerie-like jackets and coats.