People who don't know me sometimes call me 'Mademoiselle.'

The aim of being a good designer is to have an influence. If you design furniture or lifestyle, you should influence the way people evolve globally. It's good to have an influence. I feel like people on the street today probably dress better than they did in the '50s.

When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.

I don't think couture will die. But it should have no pretension that it will conquer the world. It's not something that will disappear because all you need is a thread and a needle to start making something couture.

My sense of designing is a mix of intuition and intellectual control.

I really hated school. I had the feeling I was losing a lot of time.

My mother loved fashion and always had a great aesthetic. But she also considered the cost of it, with the kids, that it wasn't something to allow herself. It also probably nourished my passion and my will to make fashion, because I've always felt that, because of having a big family to take care of, she sacrificed a bit of her femininity.