I remember Grace (Coddington) looking at me and said, 'Can you do something?' and I was like, 'OK, how long do you give me?' and she said 'Half an hour?', I said 'Forty-five minutes?'

Fashion is a playground up until a certain age. But then you have to find your own signature and your own style.

What I find most interesting in fashion is that it has to reflect our time. You have to witness your own moment.

Never forget that what becomes timeless was once truly new.

More than anything, I'm designing for a woman of today. I want to be a witness of my time.

I'd rather work with someone who likes what I do than create something for the red carpet that won't make me happy.

You never do things thinking you will make a big statement. It just happens sometimes and you are lucky.

In French we have this word déclic. It's when you have, suddenly, a light shining and you say, "This is what I want to do."

I put pressure on myself to propose something new - I think it's the minimum that you can do as a fashion designer.

For a long time, my uniform consisted of a trench coat, wide flared jeans, and little bottines - I copied a pair that my mother had in this theater place. I had, like, 10 pairs of the same shoes.

Your priority has to be the creativity - and build a brand. That's what everybody did - Balenciaga, Dior, Saint Laurent. That's the smart thing to do.

Before you can successfully make friends with others, first you have to become your own friend.

I rather fight for light then to go blind in night.

How could I want one thing so much and its exact opposite at the same time?

You can't come back to TV for two months. It's too short. You can't start anything. It's too much of a tease and there's really nowhere you can go.

Often pagans, with their eyes wide open, do not see very clearly.

An insolent reply from a polite person is a bad sign.

It was good fortune to be a child during the Depression years and a youth during the war years.

To be outspoken, or different at all, is a problem for women.

To think what you want to think is to think truth, regardless of appearances.

The odds of not meeting in this life are so great that every meeting is like a miracle. It's a wonder that we don't make love to every single person we meet.