What’s the etiquette for the start of a fashion shoot, when one arrives on set?
I always introduce everyone. Top to bottom!

Who’s the most important person on set?
MOI!!

Who is the best female model ever?
Linda Evangelista.

The most overused word to describe the mood of a fashion photograph?
Iconic and Majjjor!

The most overused – and therefore forbidden – picture that you’ve seen used on moodboards?
Jeans and couture. High and low. Always my trademark. My first cover with Anna Wintour as editor-in-chief of Vogue that changed the fashion world forever!!!

The secret to enjoying fashion week?
Watching live on my computer from home, and not having to wait hours for an eight-to-nine-minute-long show!

Your best memory of working with Irving Penn?
The simplicity of it. Very small team and no egos! We had a great relationship. Just listening to him telling me countless stories like Alex Liberman sending him to Africa for two weeks to shoot one picture of one flower.

Your best memory of working with Richard Avedon?
When I was sent by Alex Liberman to do my first cover (instead of Polly Mellen…) I began wrapping a bath towel around Estelle, the model, and placed two earrings on one ear. Avedon jumped on the phone to Liberman to complain in front of me: ‘Is your French editor out of her mind!? No dress and three earrings!?’ Liberman’s response: ‘Let her do whatever she wants!’ And the cover ran!

Your best memory of working with Steven Meisel?
Unforgettable. Extraordinary. Legendary. Iconic. And ALL SUBLIME! Paris, New York, Milan! Countless times. [Hair stylist] Oribe driving his jeep, all of us wearing wigs, spying on another Vogue shoot in New York, laughing out of control!

Your best memory of working with Linda Evangelista?
My partner in crime! Working hard and laughing hard, as we always do!

The best make-up artist of all time?
François Nars and Pat McGrath.

The best hair stylist of all time?
Oribe and Guido.

The key to good retouching?
The less the better!

When do you know it’s too much retouching?
Open your eyes and look!

The best photography studio of all time?
Industria and Highline in New York. Studio Astre in Paris.

Your most memorable location for a fashion shoot?
Paris, New York, St. Barts.

How many images can be shot in one day? What is the right number?
The winner is Patrick [Demarchelier] –25!

A word or phrase to describe your feel- ings about the imminent rise of AI use in fashion photography?
As ChatGPT answered: ‘Guarded Optimism’. Cautious but open to its creative potential.

What is the appropriate etiquette at the end of a fashion shoot, as you’re leaving set?
‘CHAMPAGNE!’