MADRID (AP) — David Delfin, a Spanish fashion designer, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 46.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy expressed his condolences for Delfin's death on Sunday.

Rajoy said in a telegram sent to Delfin's family published on the Spanish government's website that Delfin "was one of the most charismatic and creative fashion designers in Spain" who "leaves an incomparable legacy."

Born in Malaga, Delfin co-founded a studio in Madrid in 2001. A year later he made his mark as one of Spain's most provocative designers by covering models' faces with hoods and putting nooses around their necks at the Pasarela Cibeles fashion show.

He went on to win several international awards and earned Spain's National Award for Fashion Design in 2016 for "developing his own avant-garde universe."