When you become controversial, when you want to promote new ideas, you need to be the face of it and not be scared.

Michael Jackson is timeless to me. The fact that he wanted to break the rules, that he was always talking about a new world, a global world - "Black or White," "They Don't Care About Us," "Heal the world. Make it a better place" - with this charisma, that always touched me. I'm obsessed with the fact that he went so political. He became a legend, and today I think he's still the King of Pop.

What is the Balmain girl? It’s a woman who knows what she wants and is going to express it

I've learned that I am strong enough. When some people might have given up, I didn't. I found myself in situations where I had to make choices and I followed my instincts. You can't show people you're learning, because if you do, they will treat you like a kid. You have to grow up faster, not showing any fragility.

I really respect the new generation, people who are maybe 12 or 13. I think it's really important to understand the future customer - their tastes and their dreams. What my generation is dreaming of is different from what my parents dreamt.

I think the only word I can use to describe what I'm doing today is feeling free. Of course, it's a business - it's about money at the end of the day, but it's about ideas as well. When you treat fashion only like a business, you're not going to go anywhere; when you push on that, we have the chance to express ourselves.

There are two women that I am really in love with that I wish I could have dressed: The first one is Marilyn Monroe, and the second is Whitney Houston. People always ask me who's going to be the next, and I never know, but I know I would love to have had Marilyn and Whitney wear Balmain.