Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
In the early '50s, it was still the time of Christian Dior's New Look. Every dress was big and important, and I thought I must do something completely different. Women needed something for daytime that was wearable.
I very much wanted to live in Paris when I was in the army, and I was quite determined to. I could have become a dress designer: Dior was willing to take me on as an assistant, but he did not have an immediate vacancy.
I've always seen myself as a small entity, and it will always stay like that. I'm not changing. But I think the big challenge for me taking on the Dior thing is to see how I can connect that to such a huge institution.
The first suit I enjoyed was a Dior suit that I got given. I've never worn anything that fitted that closely - it was akin to 'Oh my God, I had no idea that a suit didn't have to be this wide.' But I do intend to get one made some day.
Dior makes the best lip glosses going. I'm nuts about them, especially the clear one with the silver sparkles. I got addicted to DiorShow Mascara, too. It makes you look like you're wearing false eyelashes. It's the only one that rivals Maybelline.
It's not lost on me to have the ability to be wearing custom Dior or Gucci, with my box braids or my bantu knots. It's another opportunity to show that Black girls belong in these places and that what I naturally bring as a Black girl belongs as well.
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.
In everyday life, I'm pretty much T-shirt and jeans guy - a soft LnA shirt, cool APC jeans, Nikes or Jordans. If I'm going to an event I like to wear a suit, sometimes a three-piece. I'm into brands like Simon Spurr - I think he makes great suits - and Dior Homme.
I want to get away from couture just being done for a picture or for a single moment on the red carpet. I want to try and convince women that couture can be worn in the day and that there's a reality and relevance there, because that's what Mr. Christian Dior wanted.
I see my position in that whole Dior construction very differently from my own brand. My own brand will stand or fall because of me. Dior won't fall if I fall. It will also still stand if I'm not there. I'm coming in there and it's like a - I don't know the English word - like a passage.
I don't wear base, as I don't like to cover up my freckles, but I couldn't live without YSL Touche Eclat for hiding my under-eye circles. I love the smoky-eye look, so I use Dior's 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Night Dust and lashings of mascara. I finish with a dash of bronzer for a healthy glow.
I always start the day with a cup of hot water and lemon - I find it really cleanses and hydrates me. I have very sensitive, dry skin, so I have to be careful about what I put on my face. My must-haves are Dermalogica cleansing gel and L'Or De Vie Creme Riche by Dior, which is thick and nourishing.
In March 2010, I attended an art opening for Kimberly Brooks's show 'The Stylist Project' in Los Angeles. It was a starry celebration hosted by Dior and 'Vanity Fair' to benefit P.S. Arts. But even as fun-to-gape-at actresses like Christina Hendricks arrived, I couldn't take my eyes off the oil portraits.
I never make a movie for awards consideration. I will use the hope of getting an Academy Award a) to honor the people who work so hard and also b) it's the greatest Good Housekeeping seal in the world. It's the greatest brand. It's as good as Louis Vuitton and Dior in the world of moviemaking. It's the Super Bowl.
As a journalist, I cannot help imagining with excitement a new era with a face-off between Hedi Slimane at YSL and Raf Simons at Dior - a magnificent battle of style and wills to echo the Armani/Versace, Gucci/Prada or even Chanel/Schiaparelli face-offs of earlier years. But I remind myself that this is not a game of chess.
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.
