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

It's important to keep up the idea of the brand, even beyond sales.

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.

I was going to the flea markets to buy furniture. It was getting done the way it was getting done - on a small scale and with a lot of soul and heart and risk. We did fashion like fashion was done before - spontaneously, with joy and freedom, and that's what created our identity.

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

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.

It is true that in France, women put on less things. If they have a necklace, they don't put on earrings; if they have nail polish, they don't put on all their rings and all their bracelets.