The good food life
I don’t like to cook, but I do enjoy eating out and eating well. There’s a small restaurant in Paris near the Bristol [hotel] called Le Griffonnier. I love dining there every Thursday. It serves typical French cuisine using excellent produce – very light. The côte de boeuf with a side of French fries is my favourite dish.
All in the family
In a family business, especially one as old as ours, it’s all about values. Working in the fashion industry is demanding but also exciting. Every six months it’s a new season, so you have to create something new. It’s like when a writer starts a book and has to fill up blank pages. It’s fun.
School run fun
Over the past 30 years, I’ve driven my four children to school daily. I enjoy it because I get to spend 10-15 minutes alone with them. It’s our time. My oldest son Elie is 33 and now works with me. My youngest, daughter Ava, is nine. My children and grandchildren are my most prized possessions.
Horsing around
My favourite thing to do on weekends is go to Longchamp to watch horse races with my three closest friends. I’m a huge horse racing fan and was an amateur jockey once. I also played polo for 15 years when I was younger. Some weekends I head out to the countryside and catch the flat races in Bordeaux and Toulouse. Our family has always had horses and a stable – my grandfather got our first horse in 1910. I’ve attended the races in Dubai and enjoy them very much.
Then and now
Earlier, you could wear couture only if you had the money. Today women can’t wear half the things shown on runways even if they could afford them. They’re artistic, but mostly unwearable. It’s not my concept of fashion. I think fashion should be feminine, chic and worn. That’s what we try to do at Weill.
Nice and noir
I love Dior’s Eau Noire. It’s a traditional cologne and I use it as an aftershave too. I bought it last December during a trip to Venice, where I discovered a small perfumery in Palazzo Grassi, which has been making perfumes since the 17th century. I’ve been wearing this spicy scent every day ever since.
Culture capital
Paris is home, and it’s a city that’s a museum in itself! It’s fantastic to look at the Seine and everything that surrounds it. On weekends, I hit up the galleries and art exhibitions. I thoroughly enjoy modern art, especially the works of Francis Bacon.
On my night table
I generally have about 10 books on my nightstand. I’ve always enjoyed reading, but got lazy as an adult and read less. Some time ago, I decided to go back to books and now I read 20 pages every night. Currently, I’m reading Au plaisir de Dieu by Jean d’Ormesson. Solal by Albert Cohen is my favourite book.
