The fashion designer Roberto Cavalli is famed for his glamorous and dramatic evening wear and animal prints, worn by celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Sharon Stone and Liz Hurley. Born in Florence in 1940, he leads a jet-set lifestyle and is a mainstay at Cannes, where he moors his 41-metre yacht during the film festival.

My style of fashion is not exactly vulgar; it’s very serious, but in a more colourful way. I wouldn’t want to say which of my clothes were the most beautiful: all my clothes are like children to me.

I am a classic designer, even if I might not seem so. There are certain people from the past that I would have liked to dress. There is a fantasy and charm about Marilyn Monroe; I would love to have known her, though I don’t know how she would have looked in my clothes. I like the glamour of Rita Hayworth. She was an actress whom I loved a lot, as was Audrey Hepburn. It’s something that is lacking in the cinema of today, stars like these three. I still feel their loss.

I like the music world because I find singers need more freedom in their clothes than actresses do. They try to harmonise their music with my clothes. It makes me go crazy when I see Beyoncé or Mary J. Blige wearing one of my dresses while singing, and watching it move to the sound of the music. Most of the time singers are more fun than actors. I don’t know why.

What makes a woman sexy? She has to be sexy with her eyes and with her charm, as well as with the glamour that every woman must possess within herself. The clothes help, but that’s all. What I love about women is their personality. I’m not crazy about beauty because we see so many beautiful women around the world. In my experience, only a few women have the right personality. One woman who has beauty, is strong and was with me for a few days on my boat was Sharon Stone. She’s fantastic, I love her.

I met my wife on July 15, 1977, at the Miss Universe contest. I was a judge and she was Miss Austria; soon after, she became Miss Universe. We met during a photo shoot after the contest and one day later we started a love story that has continued until today.

Pete Doherty is a really unusual man — the making of him I’m not crazy about, but I feel he has a very strong personality, which is why I used him in my advertising campaign. I am a little taken with him. Also for the young he is an icon; he is an emblem of freedom. I don’t like his lifestyle, but it is his choice.

People asked me why I used Kate Moss immediately after her drug scandal. I find her a great professional, and I have always liked her personality. I have never thought: “Does this person use drugs or not?” I am anti-drugs, but what can you do? As designers we have to trust the models’ personality and professionalism. I don’t want to know about their private lives.

The young stop me all over the world in the street and say, “Oh, Roberto, you’re my idol”. I said OK to H & M so that youngsters could have the chance to wear Cavalli, not just the beautiful stars on the red carpet. The style is very Cavalli — a little bit from the past but, more importantly, a vision of the future. I hope to see lots of girls queueing up to discover what I have created for them.

— Cavalli for H & M launches in November.

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