Inès de la Fressange

"There is a time for everything, at 22 years old you want the handsome, funny, feisty man; to 25 the one who loves books and talks about politics; to 30 choose the father of your children. At 50 you accept that you are not always the winner, at this age you know your defects and your weaknesses; you accept yourself and you also accept the other: you are a bit of a geisha, a bit of an Amazon."

"happiness is made up of lights and shadows, it is patchy."

"It is difficult to be strong in those moments [at the death of a loved one]: and when you can't take it anymore, those who love you intervene. On the other hand, it is not even a good example for children to always prove themselves strong. How do you explain to him that you loved someone so much, then he disappears and you are still toned and cheerful? It would have been uneducational and false. I dressed in black, I couldn't bear to see myself in other colors: I would never have imagined it before but at that moment it was like that. Society doesn't allow you to be sad, everyone tells you: "Come on, let's go out"."

"Better an hour of sleep or spent making love than Botox. Wrinkles are better than cat eyes. You have to accept getting old, the important thing is to be able to desire, at any age you can be willing to change."

"It makes me laugh when I see people chasing nonsense, worrying about a delay or things that, seen five years later, seem like nothing. And to women who think that a designer shoe or piece of jewelery is important, I say: most people don't pay attention to these things. Dress not for your friends but for your own satisfaction: wear what makes you feel good."

"A platonic love always arises between photographer and model. With Inès de la Fressange there was an immediate feeling. I took the first nude photo of her, for Vogue. And it was Inès who inspired the whole series that followed. (Paolo Roversi)"