My dream is to be a doctor. I'm almost working in a laboratory, because I'm trying new techniques, new directions and fabrics, new weaving.
Alber Elbaz
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.
Fashion doesn't look good only on models; it can look good on different people of different ages and different body shapes.
I work on fittings, mostly. You know, I sketch less and less in my work. I sketch for the show sometimes, but then it becomes more conceptual. But when I don't sketch, it becomes more pragmatic.
Almost every collection I do has 200 different references. I don't have two of the same coat, two of the same dress. I have it in one color, in one fabric. I've tried to adapt the culture of couture, and the know-how and the heritage, but I try to update it.
Run away from laziness; work hard. Touch intuition and listen to the heart, not marketing directors. Dream.
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 do sport at the gym a few times a week, but I hate it. Work is my only remedy. I feel so twisted and horrible in the morning, but then I go to the office and I start feeling better. Work is my Tylenol. Extra-strength.
If I am in a beautiful place, but I don't like the people, I am miserable.
I've always said fashion is like roast chicken: You don't have to think about it to know it's delicious.
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.
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.
I think a good designer can exist everywhere and anywhere and all the time. It's all about being good, and I think that our job basically is to make women and men look good.
How do you stand out as a fashion ad campaign? By using people off the street; it does generate buzz.
My job is to do. My job is to make women beautiful. What do I have to say?
I love to see old women. I love wrinkles. I love gray hair.
There is always a reason why, and I need to tell the stories.
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 don't think that you can write music if you don't know how to play an instrument. You have to know the basics, then you can go forward.
I wanted to go out of fashion, to study medicine. I thought, you know, who needs fashion? How important is it if you wear a red dress and an orange jacket? It's not, really.
The designers, photographers and models I work with, they are really hard-working people who are devoting their lives to fashion. They're kind of like nuns of fashion.
Nothing is ever enough for me. I'm always thinking what is wrong, what needs to be fixed.
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.
I don't think you can be a designer if you don't care.
Stay big in your work and small in your life.
I am not interested in perfection, and neither are the women who wear my clothes.
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.
I always say that women are very strong and men are powerful. But beauty gives you both strength and power. I never think of it. It's just one of those natural things. It's the only thing I know how to do.
I hate the word 'cool.' It gives me a rash.
Why not touch things that we hate and turn them upside down and inside out?
The worst thing that can happen is if you're stuck within a bubble and you think that is what life is all about. It's great to see other people and hear from people of different ages and opinions.
I think that if you want to pass emotion, you have to write a letter. Emotions do not pass in SMS or in e-mail.
I am always trying to put myself inside: Every dress I do, I think, 'If I were a woman, would I wear it?'
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 love women. I get along with women more than men, and I have more women friends.
I was a fat child; I was asthmatic. No wonder I'm a hypochondriac.
The problem with couture is not designers; it's what happens when the couturier will no longer be there.
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.
For me, Lancome was more than just a brand. There was something very nostalgic about the name, about the whole story.
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 you change a woman's look, you change her persona.
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.
Fashion is not enough anymore. It's not just about what you wear. I mean, I don't know how many women can afford to take the time to come to Paris for three fittings.
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.
Me, as a designer who is not exactly skinny, all I want is comfortable clothes.
I am very much a people person.
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.
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'm always looking for a story.
I used to hate L.A., but I met such a great group of people there that I fell in love with it.
