Most people know you as someone in fashion - you've worked closely with John Galliano, and for the last several years you've been by Karl Lagerfeld's side. How would you describe your role with Chanel?
As Karl's outside pair of eyes
You also have this whole secret life as an artist, creating sketches and paintings.
I don't think anybody's just one thing. One part of me appears during collection time, but the rest of the time I'm trying to make my mark in other ways, though a lot of the time I will bury myself in menial tasks like feeding the animals on my farm. When I do paint, it is because I've released myself from my own chains.
Have you always painted?
Always. I used to make magazines when I was little. I'd draw the cover and all the advertising. Today I'm incredibly lucky to have somebody like Karl who encourages my drawing. He pushes me, saying things like, "Hmmm, that's very Queen Victoria. Loosen up." (laughs)
And now you've really loosened and created the piece of artwork presented here, one that you made especially for this issue. Tell us about the lace on it.
It's actually part of my bridal veil. I remember crying when I put it on because I was terrified that I wasn't up to the mark - probably for good reason- because the marriage didn't work. Anyway, the veil ended up disintegrating, and I had the various pieces in my dining room, which functions as a kind of studio. So there I was with the lace and a canvas, and I got this assignment from you to create something that conveyed the idea of "nervous splendor". The lace almost looks to me like an exploding star, so I gessoed it to the canvas
I also see a little bird.
Yes, I was aware that there was this emptiness in the center and I tried various things to fill it, even drawing the glass ceiling of the Grand Palais in Paris, but none of it worked. Ultimately I saw this bird and it seemed absolutely right for the painting. It could be me or anybody, really, balancing on the edge of something.
One has to do a lot of balancing in the times we're living in.
We do - it's an exuberant time, but I also feel we live on the edge of darkness. The world is more unstable than ever. It's the job of the artist to set that down, because if you make one person feel even approximately as you do about something then you've achieved so much.
INTERVIEW Feb. 2006
As Karl's outside pair of eyes
You also have this whole secret life as an artist, creating sketches and paintings.
I don't think anybody's just one thing. One part of me appears during collection time, but the rest of the time I'm trying to make my mark in other ways, though a lot of the time I will bury myself in menial tasks like feeding the animals on my farm. When I do paint, it is because I've released myself from my own chains.
Have you always painted?
Always. I used to make magazines when I was little. I'd draw the cover and all the advertising. Today I'm incredibly lucky to have somebody like Karl who encourages my drawing. He pushes me, saying things like, "Hmmm, that's very Queen Victoria. Loosen up." (laughs)
And now you've really loosened and created the piece of artwork presented here, one that you made especially for this issue. Tell us about the lace on it.
It's actually part of my bridal veil. I remember crying when I put it on because I was terrified that I wasn't up to the mark - probably for good reason- because the marriage didn't work. Anyway, the veil ended up disintegrating, and I had the various pieces in my dining room, which functions as a kind of studio. So there I was with the lace and a canvas, and I got this assignment from you to create something that conveyed the idea of "nervous splendor". The lace almost looks to me like an exploding star, so I gessoed it to the canvas
I also see a little bird.
Yes, I was aware that there was this emptiness in the center and I tried various things to fill it, even drawing the glass ceiling of the Grand Palais in Paris, but none of it worked. Ultimately I saw this bird and it seemed absolutely right for the painting. It could be me or anybody, really, balancing on the edge of something.
One has to do a lot of balancing in the times we're living in.
We do - it's an exuberant time, but I also feel we live on the edge of darkness. The world is more unstable than ever. It's the job of the artist to set that down, because if you make one person feel even approximately as you do about something then you've achieved so much.
INTERVIEW Feb. 2006
