Fashion is very tough, and we shouldn't forget that before designers were money-makers, they were artists.

It's funny, everything is so much easier when you do it yourself.

I am not mean at all; I am not tough at all.

When I was working with Tom Ford, he would just look at me and ask, 'Will you wear it?' I'd say, 'Ah, too long, too short, lower waist, deeper V, unbutton' - that sort of thing. I don't create clothes, but I definitely know how to make them come alive.

It's interesting to know how much you are worth.

Working for a magazine, you have a boss; you are not free.

London Fashion Week isn't the most organised, but I don't mind that. It's such an exciting place - it's small and cool.

When you love fashion, there is no weekend. Everything just blends together.

Fashion is one big family.

My private life is a lot more ladylike and less sultry than the fashion photos I imagine.

Just because someone is holding a gun doesn't make an image controversial. It all depends on where you put the gun, who is holding it.

Monsieur Saint Laurent was pathologically shy, and he made the Saint Laurent woman in his own image. Like her, I am shy. And to protect myself, I adopted something of an androgynous look, just as his women did.

In a way, I envy the freedom artists have. Artists can push themselves beyond their limits, in pursuit of their ideas and their vision, even if they are inhabited by demons that can also play tricks on them.

People always say, 'You look like Iggy Pop.'

The fashion industry certainly has its obscene sides. The cost of a coat can be obscene. So can the cost of a photo shoot if you're working with a really good photographer.

Anna Wintour is the most powerful woman in the global fashion industry, the first lady of fashion. She's a politician; I'm a stylist. They are two very different jobs.

I like to provoke. I'm very French.

If Caravaggio was a photographer today, I would love to work with him. I love his dark vision - I have a dark vision.

'Vogue' is a very beautiful magazine, an institution, and I learned so much working there.

You can't put yourself into competition with a magazine like 'Vogue.' You have to create something new, something different.

I'm not the girl next door.

I was never conscious that I was becoming an icon or I'm not an icon, because my family, my kids, my husband keep me down-to-earth.

When Tom Ford asked me to consult for Gucci, I had never consulted in my life. I didn't know what consulting was, and look, we made something amazing.

I'm not a Facebook girl. Even though there is a fake Facebook with my name, it's not me. I'm not on Twitter; it's not me.

Sometimes pressure can be good, and it gives you a lot of energy to do something.

'Grandmother' doesn't mean that you have gray hair and you retire and stay home cooking cakes for your grandchildren.

If you are a reader of 'Harper's Bazaar,' to me, you are a woman who loves fashion, but not just fashion; you love fashion, you love travel, you love art, you love music.

I think the 'Harpers Bazaar' woman is not a fashion victim; she understands fashion but is not a victim, you know.

You discover yourself through the research of your work.

My father was very chic. My mum was always encouraging me. Some parents would say, 'Why don't you be a lawyer, a doctor, or something more important?' They never said that.

I started as a writer for magazines, and soon they asked me to illustrate my stories. I started from the bottom of the bottom. And I climbed the stairs, one by one.

When you're writing, you're on your own, and I like to work as a team.

'Vogue' is a very specific world. You are 'Vogue,' or not 'Vogue.'

I think it is good when something can stay interesting for a long time. It's not just a trend for one month.

I am very surprised by someone like Alexander Wang. I am amazed how he is good with fashion, with business, with public relations himself, with an attitude in his clothes that is spoken immediately.

I saw 'The Devil Wears Prada.' I don't think it's a reality.

What is chic is just to be perfect, like magical, no?

I miss my parents. But still, my granddaughter, my daughter, my grandma, you know, so it's very important for me. You lost your parents, but a new baby comes. It's like the cycle of fashion.

People say I look like my father. My son is very much like him.

A magazine is not just one person. And a fashion shoot is the same!

I'm not a superhero - I'm a super worker!

I do think fashion is fun! Much more than people think.

I know that people in fashion and people in general hate to be filmed.

Yes, I can speak a bit and I can read and write in Russian. I learned it from my grandmother who raised me with all the Russian fairytales.

The Russians are extreme people: they are generous but crazy at the same time. They always have something to say, and I really like that.

I'm not a nostalgic person: I never look back; I always forget.

When you're getting old, obviously you try to put on the best cream, you have massages, you try to stay beautiful, but I think wrinkles can sometimes be more beautiful than having none.

Paris is mostly retired people - I love it, and it's a beautiful city, but it's quite slow.

Fashion shows used to be more crazy. Now they've become a bit too serious.

It's very difficult for designers today. How can someone produce so many shows? Now the minimum is four a year.