Alice Temperley

Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world and such an incredible breeding ground for designers. You can't help but find it an inspiring place.

I think I'd go mad if I didn't have a place to escape to.

I always knew I wanted to create. I used to sit in my room for hours drawing and making things. I once got into trouble for cutting up my mother's lampshades to make a dress. I was three.

I was always in trouble at school for what I was wearing; I was never made a prefect because of the way I used to dress - I ripped my tights, my skirts were too short, all sorts of things.

I don't think many people would think I'm a designer. I behave in a different way. I'd get knocked down and cut to pieces if I went home and flounced about; this industry is known for the flounciness, but I've got my feet on the ground.

Remember, its all about you and the dress. Nothing more, so keep the accessories very discreet.

I used to be frustrated about being called bohemian, but I don't really care now. If that's what you are, you should celebrate it.

A lot of self-importance goes on in the fashion industry. I'm not like that.

I like to be real. I don't like things to be staged or fussy.

I like the things around me to be beautiful and slightly dreamy, with a feeling of worldliness.

I loved being in London. Always walking everywhere, always out and about and always at markets, walking around Brick Lane and Covent Garden and Soho.

I like the Hotel Costes, on rue Saint Honore, a boutique hotel near the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and the Tuileries. I love the dark, moody decor as well as the fantastic scented, candlelit pool in the basement.