I wanted to go back to the beginning and to the codes of the house.

In Italy, the Milanese are well organized but follow bourgeois taste. They adhere to certain codes of elegance, but not to individualism.

With the development of the Christian Lacroix house in Paris and my work notably for the theater, it wasn't serious doing things by half,

Going out in Paris was like going out in the '30s dressed like the Andrews Sisters. It was everything I'd seen in books at my grandparents' house, only it was our generation.

If you look back at the history of creativity in clothes - the French Revolution, the First World War and the Second World War - they have all been creative reinventions, the moment new forms of luxury come into play.

Ready-to-wear -- that means 'ready to wear'. Some people are doing couture during ready-to-wear (fashion week), others are putting up performances, we just come here with our little flowers.