ALBER ELBAZ

In fashion, the time is so short, and even with pre-collection, there are not only dresses, shoes, bags, and furs but now raincoats and T-shirts. It's just an endless amount of work that we have to produce in no time.

I hate the word 'cool.' It gives me a rash.

How do you stand out as a fashion ad campaign? By using people off the street; it does generate buzz.

I don't think you can be a designer if you don't care.

The nature of fashion is family.

Many, many times I find that whatever is looking good on the screen doesn't always look or feel good on the body. So who do we design for - do we design for the screen, or do we design for women?

The worst thing that can happen is if you're stuck within a bubble and you think that is what life is all about. It's great to see other people and hear from people of different ages and opinions.

Mine is a job that never ends, a function where it is almost impossible to set aside time to rest or take a breather.

All I want is beautiful. I mean, I like grey hair, I love wrinkles. But this is me.

Almost every collection I do has 200 different references. I don't have two of the same coat, two of the same dress. I have it in one color, in one fabric. I've tried to adapt the culture of couture, and the know-how and the heritage, but I try to update it.

I barely finish one pre-collection before I must start on another. Sales start, but I am already elsewhere creatively. The men's show is being prepared, but we also need to think about accessories, perfumes and other items. In sum, I never stop.

For me, Lancome was more than just a brand. There was something very nostalgic about the name, about the whole story.

We are being accused that some models are anorexic. But we as fashion designers cannot be blamed, because you know, when I talk to women around the world, rich and poor and young and old and intellectual and not, what they want to be is skinny. You ask them, 'What is your dream?' It's to be skinny. That's all they want.

I wanted to go out of fashion, to study medicine. I thought, you know, who needs fashion? How important is it if you wear a red dress and an orange jacket? It's not, really.

I certainly can't complain. I work six days a week, if not seven, and eighteen hours out of twenty-four - fortunately, with a great deal of pleasure. Why? Because I only do something if I want to do it; I need to feel a desire, to find pleasure in moving forward, creating, moving, inventing.

Our clothes are not always beautiful on the hanger, but put them on, and they fit like bathing suits.

Why not touch things that we hate and turn them upside down and inside out?

Women can dream at 9 in the morning and at 10 o'clock at night - it doesn't matter.

I never think people should do things for me. I think I should do things for others. That makes me more comfortable.

I've always said fashion is like roast chicken: You don't have to think about it to know it's delicious.

Me, as a designer who is not exactly skinny, all I want is comfortable clothes.

If you take something out of the freezer, it's cold, but what happens when it melts? It's a cool party, a cool person, a cool collection. What does that mean? I'm more interested in things that are uncool, things that have a certain individuality, a certain soul, a certain longevity, emotion, fragility.

I always wear a dinner jacket. I never have this definition of what goes for the morning or the evening or what works for the weekend.

One woman told me that every time she wears Lanvin, men fall in love with her. Another told me she wore Lanvin to face her husband's lawyer because she felt protected. If I can make men fall in love with women and if I can protect women, I think I can die peacefully.

At Yves Saint Laurent, I felt like the son-in-law - like I was part of the family, but not quite. When I was fired, I felt like the widow.