Quotes from Alber Elbaz

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?

Stay big in your work and small in your life.

I'm not a religious person in the regular sense, but in the Bible you're not allowed to steal, you're not allowed to lie and you're not allowed to feel you're above other people.

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

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.

It was not the story of design or clothes, it was the fantasy of women that made me want to work in fashion.

There is always a reason why, and I need to tell the stories.

I'm always looking for a story.

Fashion doesn't look good only on models, it can look good on different people of different ages and different body shapes.

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

I think fashion is about longevity and doing your work. It isn't about winning or losing. It's about process, keeping it going.

The designers, photographers and models I work with, they are really hard-working people who are devoting their lives to fashion. They're kind of like nuns of fashion.

I love and respect women. I work mostly with women.

I work on fittings, mostly. You know, I sketch less and less in my work. I sketch for the show sometimes, but then it becomes more conceptual. But when I don't sketch, it becomes more pragmatic.

We are comfortable with formulas, but the best happens when the formula doesn't work.

I am always trying to put myself inside: Every dress I do, I think, 'If I were a woman, would I wear it?'

Pure, intense emotions. It's not about design. It's about feelings.

I don't like perfection - I think it's dangerous. There is nothing after perfection.

The nature of fashion is family. You see that at almost every house, it was owned first by a family. It wasn't owned by a bank.

Fashion is not about buying a second skin. Fashion is about having a fantasy.

Fashion is about having a fantasy.

If it's not edible, it's not food. If it's not wearable, it's not fashion.