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'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.

What I'm doing now is having people with and around me to build what other designers built before - like Pierre Balmain with Josephine Baker, Audrey Hepburn, Dalida, Brigitte Bardot.

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

I like people who are powerful, confident, and fearless. Balmain is about an attitude. I think if Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were alive, they would definitely be part of the Balmain crew.

Kanye West is inspirational. He expresses such a strong vision beyond music, beyond fashion - it's art. He sn't afraid to push boundaries and be provocative.

When you build a big empire, you become the persona that people think they know. So when you try to show them who you are, to help them discover you, they just want what they think they know about you. I would have been smarter to build some relationships when I was younger, a private love or something. Today it is more difficult. But it's the price to pay. I never regret anything, because every choice I made for a reason, but I'd love personal love.