It’s probably never been said by any fashion designer in an interview – “Who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one.” Nor would you have heard or read a fashion designer stating in clear terms, “Karl Lagerfeld never touched a pair of scissors in his life.” But then there is always this one guy with ‘balls’ and the designer I am talking about is none other than the designer par excellence Azzedine Alaïa. Alaïa’s no-holds-barred interview appeared in a fashion mag – Virgine.

Could you ever dream of any of our Indian designers speaking out their mind about a fashion editor to Press? But I personally feel that at times our designers should speak out as there are many floating around as Fashion Critic or Fashion Scribe who can’t tell the difference between the Warp and the Weft and thinks Bias-Cut is a cut when the designer is Biased towards a person or trend! 

Well Azzedine Alaïa is in a different league. As long as he knows that women love his clothes, he cares a damn about what magazines write. He shows when he wants and when he is ready — not when there’s a fashion week. He does the same with his seasonal deliveries. Michelle Obama is a fan of Alaïa’s designs and he is probably one of America’s best-selling designer.

Now here’s what Alaïa said about Anna Wintour, Editor of the American Vogue: “She runs the business [of Vogue] very well, but not the fashion part. When I see how she is dressed, I don’t believe in her tastes one second. I can say it loudly! She hasn’t photographed my work in years even if I am a best seller in the U.S. and I have 140 square meters at Barneys. American women love me; I don’t need her support at all. Anna Wintour doesn’t deal with pictures; she is just doing PR and business, and she scares everybody. But when she sees me, she is the scared one. Other people think like me, but don’t say it because they are afraid that Vogue won’t photograph them. Anyway, who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one. Take Diana Vreeland, she is remembered because she was so chic. What she did with the magazine was great.”

About Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaïa had this to say, “I don’t like his fashion, his spirit, his attitude. It’s too much caricature. Karl Lagerfeld never touched a pair of scissors in his life. That doesn’t mean that he’s not great, but he’s part of another system. He has capacity. One day he does photography, the next he does advertisements for Coca-Cola. I would rather die than see my face in a car advertisement. We don’t do the same work.“