You have to always work against what you did before, and even against your taste. Go to a place where you’re not going to be stressed, because a honeymoon itself can be a stressful thing. Give me time and I’ll give you a revolution. People said making clothes inside out was not proper. I disagreed, because clothes that are inside out are as beautiful as a cathedral. I like to be real. I don’t like things to be staged or fussy.
Fashion is a very stressful place to work because of the demands of doing the shows – no one expects a writer to produce two books a year on the dot – but it’s also a very toxic place to work. I never look at other people’s work. My mind has to be completely focused on my own illusions. That is the key of this collection, being yourself. Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live. It should be natural, and that’s how I like women to look. I like them to feel comfortable and look organic. I don’t try to be in fashion; I don’t try to follow trends. You just end up out of fashion that way.
I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style. Grunge is a hippied romantic version of punk. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress. It’s really easy to get colors right. It’s really hard to get black – and neutrals – right. Black is certainly a color but it’s also an illusion. Women are more sure of themselves today. They don’t have to emulate the way men dress.
You have to stay true to your heritage; that’s what your brand is about. Awkwardness gives me great comfort. I’ve never been cool, but I’ve felt cool. I’ve been in the cool place, but I wasn’t really cool – I was trying to pass for hip or cool. It’s the awkwardness that’s nice. It’s sometimes said that I’m rebellious and I do things to push people’s buttons, but I just like the challenge. Men don’t want another man to look at their woman because they don’t know how to handle it. Jeans represent democracy in fashion.
Give me time and I’ll give you a revolution. Jeans represent democracy in fashion. Confidence. If you have it, you can make anything look good. Nostalgia is a very complicated subject for me. I’m attracted by nostalgia but I refuse it intellectually. Fashion never stops. There is always the new project, the new opportunity.
