Guy Paulin; Paris Designer of Fishnet Fashions in 1970s

Guy Paulin, a French designer of ready-to-wear clothing who built his reputation on fishnet garments in the 1970s, died Thursday at 44 of an AIDS-related illness.

Born in the Lorraine area of eastern France, Paulin began working in a Paris department store at 17, first as a salesman and later as a buyer. He began designing for Dorthee Bis and Paraphernalia, introducing the first collection under his own name only a decade ago.

He worked one year for the high fashion house Chloe, replacing Karl Lagerfeld, and then returned to his own label. His last collection was produced in October, 1989.