Architect Zaha Hadid's gallery space in London is to host a show of work by fashion designer Elke Walter, who creates many of the statement pieces worn by the architect. Main image by Tung Walsh.

Elke Walter creates unconventional one-of-a-kind garments that are draped into extravagant shapes rather than cut and fitted, which have become a favourite of Zaha Hadid's.

Walter first met Hadid during Design Miami 2006, where her garments were on display at a charity event. "She just tried on, then about half a year later we were contacted by her PA and she asked if the pieces were still available," Walter told Dezeen.

Since then, Hadid has chosen Walter's designs to wear for photoshoots and the opening events for her high-profile building projects including the Guangzhou Opera House.

"When I know it's for a special event, I do something that nobody else would and she looks so great in it and I love that," Walter said.

She revealed that she's happy to find a customer who likes her designs. "Regular customers find my designs too crazy," said Walter. "Maybe [Hadid] has some of the craziness that I have. I can't explain why she likes them, maybe there's a link between how we both think and design."

Her garments are often voluminous and use a lot of material, creating flexibility and allowing them to fit any body type.

"You can move in it," she said. "Even if it's a big piece, you always feel comfortable, like it belongs to you. The pieces are adjustable to different people's bodies and this comes from the way I cut it."

Instead of using patterns and cutting sections of fabric to sew together, she drapes and folds the material over a mannequin and sometimes herself to form the shapes.

"I create the shape by cutting straight into the fabric, or holding it up like a sculpture but it takes a lot of time," she explained. "I want to give it a shape from all sides so you could also put it on a hanger and use it as a decorative piece, thats my goal."

Walter primarily works with synthetic fabrics as they tend not to crease as much as natural materials.

"The advantage of these new fibres is that you can wash them, you can wear them, you can sit on them, you can sleep in them, they don't change," she told us. "I can't stand it when somebody gets up from sitting in a silk dress and it's all crinkled."

Walter will be showing and selling her one-of-a-kind pieces along with a simple range of black clothing she calls Essentials at the Zaha Hadid Design Gallery in London's Clerkenwell district from 21 to 23 November.