I like to be lazy. I do like to be busy and really active, but when that's done, you can be sure I will be a lazy boy. I like to take time and relax and enjoy life.
One of my biggest pet peeves is well-dressed designers. If you spend that much time thinking about your own clothes, you're not spending enough time thinking about what you're designing.
Working in a salon, you look at trends all day long. You're looking at color all the time, what new products are coming out. You're a part of the fashion industry, especially if you're working in a higher-end salon.
I always was fascinated with China, because I was born in Europe, and for us, China had this fascination and mystery. The first time I came here was in 1989. They were on bicycles, and the speed of the growth has been incredible.
I'm always fetishizing the French woman and French taste and style. My assistant will make fun of me because every time we're picking the direction of a collection, I say the same thing: 'I want it to be really French.'
My first collection was made from sheets that my grandmother, who lived in Normandy, had been collecting for a long time. There are a lot of flea markets in that part of France, and she knew what I liked.
I worked in a boutique after work, my second job, selling women's clothes. And that was a way of not just making money but meeting women. That was very exciting job. I loved that job.
I love a blouse that's dumb. I love to use the word 'dumb.' It's not knowing, and the word 'blouse' is so out of fashion that I love it - 'a blouse that's dumb.'
I love the entire ritual of getting dressed. When we do a fashion show, we try to send out a message; we couldn't do that without the hair and makeup. The whole is equal to the sum of its parts.
Latin men love Latin women, it is part of the culture, we celebrate women in a very special way and I think that is present in my work. I do it by making them beautiful, sensual.
I feel super lucky to be living in New York. I love the city, I love the energy. I always loved it. I had pictures of New York in my bedroom when I was young.
Doing womenswear is challenging, and it's exciting. I approach it the same way as I approach menswear, so it's in a tailored way, and I do my thing. I love doing it.
The truth is that we all have lives that are complicated. We all get hurt by people we love sometimes. It's laughable to believe that anyone is immune. The important thing is how you behave.
I was a kid at the end of the 1960s and in the early 1970s, so a lot of things changed. You had pop music coming up, with David Bowie, you had new television programmes and all these things. I was fascinated.
Music and fashion have had a kind of incestuous relationship since the Fifties. It started with people like Elvis Presley and pop icons like James Dean. Then it exploded in the MTV days. Now, with the Internet, it's instantaneous.
I work on a word count basis, so I have to write three thousand words a day. I can write them in the morning, I can write them in the evening; as long as they get done.
Last night, two men tried to force my shutters. I recognized them: they are two of Rodin's Italian models. He told them to kill me. I am in his way; he wants to get rid of me.
I feel more European than Belgian. However I do think that my Flemish roots have an impact on my character and culture.
When it comes to shoes, I always think Charlotte Olympia, of course! Her footwear is always feminine and sexy and also just right for every occasion.
I am like a freight train. Working on the details, twisting them and playing with them over the years, but always staying on the same track.
I started out making personal pieces, and realized that I actually like designing. I am self-taught, so I had a lot to learn technically.
