The secret of great style is to feel good in what you wear

Life is never what it seems - and that’s the great thing about it

People imagine I am always in a Bentley with pearls and diamonds and black glasses and Karl Lagerfeld next to me.

Often something more simple would be better. Sometimes I put things together - a shirt, a sweater, a jacket - and it's too complicated. I would have worn only a v-neck sweater, it would have been better. It's not the clothes but it's how you wear them sometimes.

I think the essence of fashion is lightness, frivolity, and I'm very nostalgic for the time when Bérard was doing the windows, Cocteau was writing a play, Chanel did the costumes, Bérard did the sets. I don't have to tell you this, because Colette was the first to have revived the Rue St.-Honoré by precisely doing windows that attract people. And I really like that spontaneous spirit. And so, you're lucky to be with Colette, because it's a magic word.

One thing Della Valle taught me is the power to say no if something isn't right. That mattered even over sales. Now it's rolling and finally, after having been PR, boutique director, operator, messenger, and everything else, I'm finally in the role I like the most - court jester. And that's what I was doing at Chanel before.

One thing Della Valle taught me is the power to say no if something isn't right. That mattered even over sales.