Fashion is not always about what's new, it's also about what's good. And I think if you need to see what's good, you have to be there.

- Alber Elbaz

When you come into a house like Saint Laurent, or Chanel, or Lanvin, and you go into a place that existed before you were born and will exist after you die, it takes some time to get in, to get to people, and to get the energy of the place.

- Alber Elbaz

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

- Alber Elbaz

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.

- Alber Elbaz

I've always said fashion is like roast chicken: You don't have to think about it to know it's delicious.

- Alber Elbaz

I like having the freedom to dress as I desire.

- Alber Elbaz

Our logo for Lanvin is a mother and a daughter. I've always said, 'It's not a lion, and it's not a horse. It's a mother and a daughter.' I find the logo very emotional.

- Alber Elbaz

If you take something out of the freezer, it's cold, but what happens when it melts? It's a cool party, a cool person, a cool collection. What does that mean? I'm more interested in things that are uncool, things that have a certain individuality, a certain soul, a certain longevity, emotion, fragility.

- Alber Elbaz

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

- Alber Elbaz

My dream is to be a doctor. I'm almost working in a laboratory, because I'm trying new techniques, new directions and fabrics, new weaving.

- Alber Elbaz

I think that if you want to pass emotion, you have to write a letter. Emotions do not pass in SMS or in e-mail.

- Alber Elbaz

To be a fashion critic is easy because you just say, 'I love it, I hate it,' but life is more than love and hate.

- Alber Elbaz

We are being accused that some models are anorexic. But we as fashion designers cannot be blamed, because you know, when I talk to women around the world, rich and poor and young and old and intellectual and not, what they want to be is skinny. You ask them, 'What is your dream?' It's to be skinny. That's all they want.

- Alber Elbaz

For me, the sketching of dresses was about fantasy and dreams. In my little room at home, I felt that I was somewhere else. In Paris, for instance.

- Alber Elbaz

When I was either 7 or 8 years old, I did a sketch every day of my teacher and what she wore. At the end of the year, I gave her the sketchbook. For me, the sketching of dresses was about fantasy and dreams.

- Alber Elbaz

If I wasn't a designer, I would love to be a doctor. That is my fantasy, my dream. A doctor will give you a tablet if you have a headache, and I will give you a dress, and we both make you feel good.

- Alber Elbaz

I certainly can't complain. I work six days a week, if not seven, and eighteen hours out of twenty-four - fortunately, with a great deal of pleasure. Why? Because I only do something if I want to do it; I need to feel a desire, to find pleasure in moving forward, creating, moving, inventing.

- Alber Elbaz

Run away from laziness; work hard. Touch intuition and listen to the heart, not marketing directors. Dream.

- Alber Elbaz

If I am in a beautiful place, but I don't like the people, I am miserable.

- Alber Elbaz

I want to know where is that committee in Switzerland that sits to decide what is in and what is out. I don't listen to the formula makers. I think maybe I have a selective hearing disorder.

- Alber Elbaz