A man does not look behind the door unless he has stood there himself
My friends were like, "Oh, this weekend, we're going to go shopping. " "Oh, this weekend I'm going to go to see the judo champion". . . you know. And I couldn't do anything.
This is very much part of my style, I work a lot on the back - I love the back of clothes for men. I love even T-shirts printed behind. I think, "Why do you want to show only the front?"
In the beginning, to be honest I was super-scared. I turned up and took a step back and said, 'I am here to learn,' and I feel the same today. I've got only to learn from these people because they have been doing couture for 30 or 40 years, so I keep learning every season.
I do the final fitting because the client wants me there. They're not spoilt, they really understand that you're very busy, but they just want you to say what you think - for just ten minutes. They really want to know your opinion because it really is a service at the end of the day, a luxury service.
If I am in fashion, it is really due to very few designers that I admire - not because I don't like the rest, or that the rest are not beautiful, but because I am very selective. I adore Versace. I adore Helmut Lang, despite the fact that it's over.
When I was young, especially when I was at school, I thought couture was about big gowns, big hats (that is couture as well, of course) - but my couture is about going near the clothes and having a look at the details. I like people to have a shock in a chic way.
If it works out, it's the best thing in the world. If it doesn't work out, it's like having your heart torn out and chopped up into little pieces while you watch. It leaves a big hollow space that never really heals.
To handle paint the way Pollock did, you need the muscularity of a ballet dancer.
I'm here, and I know that it's finite; I know that I'm not going to always be here.
To the house of a friend if you're pleased to retire, You must all things admit, you must all things admire; You must pay with observance the price of your treat, You must eat what is praised, and must praise what you eat.