A new exhibit at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands showcases the jaw-dropping work of Azzedine Alaïa, a Tunisian-born fashion designer and one of the world’s last great living couturiers.

A hand-painted silk ball skirt? An intricately beaded and boned corset? Couturiers produce the highest quality work, with garments that literally take hundreds of hours to produce by hand and are ...