Run away from laziness; work hard. Touch intuition and listen to the heart, not marketing directors. Dream.
— Alber Elbaz
When you come into a house like Saint Laurent, or Chanel, or Lanvin, and you go into a place that existed before you were born and will exist after you die, it takes some time to get in, to get to people, and to get the energy of the place.
Our logo for Lanvin is a mother and a daughter. I've always said, 'It's not a lion, and it's not a horse. It's a mother and a daughter.' I find the logo very emotional.
Me, as a designer who is not exactly skinny, all I want is comfortable clothes.
I was a fat child; I was asthmatic. No wonder I'm a hypochondriac.
Mine is a job that never ends, a function where it is almost impossible to set aside time to rest or take a breather.
I'm not a religious person in the regular sense, but in the Bible you're not allowed to steal, you're not allowed to lie and you're not allowed to feel you're above other people.
I'm not a plastic surgeon, and I cannot change the DNA of a person, but when I see a woman try on my clothes and she feels beautiful, I know I am doing my job.
How do you stand out as a fashion ad campaign? By using people off the street; it does generate buzz.
Fashion doesn't look good only on models; it can look good on different people of different ages and different body shapes.
I don't think you can be a designer if you don't care.
Many, many times I find that whatever is looking good on the screen doesn't always look or feel good on the body. So who do we design for - do we design for the screen, or do we design for women?
I thought, 'It doesn't matter what that woman is wearing,' but then I realised actually it's our job as designers to make women smile; to bring them the chocolate without the calories.
A singer can quit once he or she has made ten great songs; a director can finish once he or she has made five amazing films; a writer just needs to write three great books.
I like having the freedom to dress as I desire.
Women can dream at 9 in the morning and at 10 o'clock at night - it doesn't matter.
There is always a reason why, and I need to tell the stories.
I always think, if I were an editor, and I was invited to a show, and I would have to wait for 45 minutes in the dark or in the cold or in the heat, maybe I would like to have a fresh drink or a piece of chocolate.
'Commercial' is not the word that has to be said only by CEOs. It has to be something that is maybe the essence of design, because design has some sort of art in it and creation, but it's also some object that you have to use. There is also this pragmatic end to it.
For me, the sketching of dresses was about fantasy and dreams. In my little room at home, I felt that I was somewhere else. In Paris, for instance.
We are being accused that some models are anorexic. But we as fashion designers cannot be blamed, because you know, when I talk to women around the world, rich and poor and young and old and intellectual and not, what they want to be is skinny. You ask them, 'What is your dream?' It's to be skinny. That's all they want.
I certainly can't complain. I work six days a week, if not seven, and eighteen hours out of twenty-four - fortunately, with a great deal of pleasure. Why? Because I only do something if I want to do it; I need to feel a desire, to find pleasure in moving forward, creating, moving, inventing.
I live many lives at once.
Stay big in your work and small in your life.
I adore women, and the one thing I want to do more than anything is to see a transformation of personality when someone puts on one of my dresses.
I'm always looking for a story.
I hate bridges. I'm always very insecure on bridges.
My job is to do. My job is to make women beautiful. What do I have to say?
For me, Lancome was more than just a brand. There was something very nostalgic about the name, about the whole story.
At Yves Saint Laurent, I felt like the son-in-law - like I was part of the family, but not quite. When I was fired, I felt like the widow.
My father, who was a hair colourist, died when I was young, so my mother had to work very hard. But at the same time, I do believe that if you have everything, it is easy to make a dinner. When you only have flour and water and olives and potatoes, you have to be much more creative, and that's what my mother is all about.
I always wear a dinner jacket. I never have this definition of what goes for the morning or the evening or what works for the weekend.
I like dresses for night; I like after-party more than party. I like the mystery; I like the dream, like fantasy dresses. I think, also, that you make women dream.
If you change a woman's look, you change her persona.
To be a fashion critic is easy because you just say, 'I love it, I hate it,' but life is more than love and hate.
I love and respect women. I work mostly with women.
All I want is beautiful. I mean, I like grey hair, I love wrinkles. But this is me.
When I was either 7 or 8 years old, I did a sketch every day of my teacher and what she wore. At the end of the year, I gave her the sketchbook. For me, the sketching of dresses was about fantasy and dreams.
I barely finish one pre-collection before I must start on another. Sales start, but I am already elsewhere creatively. The men's show is being prepared, but we also need to think about accessories, perfumes and other items. In sum, I never stop.
If you take something out of the freezer, it's cold, but what happens when it melts? It's a cool party, a cool person, a cool collection. What does that mean? I'm more interested in things that are uncool, things that have a certain individuality, a certain soul, a certain longevity, emotion, fragility.
Women try to be the best everywhere, and it's impossible. I want my clothes to give women the freedom to just be - I want them to put on my dresses and shine.
I am not interested in perfection, and neither are the women who wear my clothes.
In high fashion, we're always accused of doing things that are not very relevant, not the real world. I know that it's important sometimes to do fantasy, but I felt like touching people and going back to different women and men, especially the idea of different ages and body shapes.
I love women. I get along with women more than men, and I have more women friends.
The nature of fashion is family.
I spend my time backstage at the Lanvin shows, and when I come out at the end, all I see are people's eyes.
I don't go out to parties because I'd look terrible in pictures. My escape is television - it's like meditation to me.
If I wasn't a designer, I would love to be a doctor. That is my fantasy, my dream. A doctor will give you a tablet if you have a headache, and I will give you a dress, and we both make you feel good.
I am always trying to put myself inside: Every dress I do, I think, 'If I were a woman, would I wear it?'
Nothing is ever enough for me. I'm always thinking what is wrong, what needs to be fixed.
