When you're a young talent, and you want to launch your brand, you always have tons of questions: Where should I produce? Should I launch a second line? Should I do shoes, accessories? If you have someone who can coach you and give you advice and help you find the right supplier, it's a big help.
It's important to celebrate the monogram. It's the DNA of Vuitton. I think - I hope - there is an interest in the philosophy and culture of the Vuitton name. It's quite coherent and intellectual, and the products are great. These are things you will want to pass on - things you treasure.
Although I feel very French, a part of my heart is in the States. When my brother and I arrived, we didn't really speak any English, and when we left, that's all we spoke when we played together. It was just a beautiful place to grow up.
At LVMH, we have amazing heritage brands, and we put interesting talents in those brands, sometimes very young, like we did at Givenchy with Riccardo Tisci at the time, or like we just did with J.W. Anderson at Loewe, but also talents that are already further along in their careers, like Raf Simons at Christian Dior or Nicolas at Vuitton.
I have a passion for modern and contemporary art. I spend a lot of time in museums; I particularly like the Guggenheim, MoMA in New York or LACMA and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, for example. I cannot wait for the Louis Vuitton Foundation to open.
The worlds of art and fashion have always been very intertwined at Dior. Francois-Xavier Lalanne and his wife, Claude, for instance, did windows for Monsieur Dior. Dior himself was a gallerist before becoming the revolutionary fashion designer we all know.
I'm quite discreet. I think I'd rather focus on my work. So, I only speak when I have something to say. 'Live hidden, and live happy.' Is that the same in English as it is in French?
