I think fashion is fashion: Sometimes you dress people that you don't know, and sometimes you dress people that you actually know.

What makes me sad in fashion is that everyone is looking for trends. A trend is one thing. Timeless is another. In 20 years, I've seen so many trends. It makes me sad when people go for the trend versus quality or vision. Or when people wear something so basic just to make sure they're considered cool, like a white t-shirt.

I don't see a difference between a biological family and an adoptive one. I think the difference is more in the eyes of others around you, who might judge because you're not the same skin color as your parents.

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.

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.

Being part of what I call the "click" generation - where everything has to be fast and revolutionary and you just want more, and it's about likes and consuming - I want to bring new things to the table. A lot of designers say they're scared or overwhelmed because everything moves so quickly now. I think it would be scarier if it was too slow. I want to go fast.

I'm always trying to understand who I want to be, what I want, what I dream of. When I was a kid, I was really worried that my parents were going to bring me back to the orphanage. I was scared of tomorrow, scared that I was going to be abandoned again. So I tried to enjoy every minute of my life because maybe tomorrow wasn't going to happen. I think I live the same way today: scared of tomorrow. For someone who is considered a party boy, a guy who just has fun and drinks champagne, I'm really tortured.