Knowing Azzedine kept me on the right road

Knowing Azzedine kept me on the right road.His friendship means very much to me and I hope I have it forever It’s more than just about material things and clothes. He doesn’t let anything go without him having looked at it and restitched it and repinned it.My relationship with Azzedine is different from those I have with other designers, because he is the only one I’ve lived with. I call him “Papa” and we really do have a father-daughter relationship. When he’s pissed off with me or mad about something, he picks up the phone and calls my mother. All the other designers respect Azzedine for that and salute him for it.Fame has not changed him at all He still works the same way he did the day he started He has to look at every pattern He still goes over everything; every single thing.

I didn’t know how to do runway when I started modelling, but he believed in me. That brought attention from other designers, and is kind of how I became known – because other designers heard of this little girl Azzedine was working with.He really taught me everything about the business, and also taught me even more important things about life – to be yourself, to do things with integrity and to do things from the heart. He likes to work late at night, until three or four in the morning. He doesn’t have to do a fashion show because people will come and want to buy his clothes – whenever and whatever he wants to make He really is unique. He understands a woman’s body better than any other designer.

But as I left, he gave me a present – a dress.
After that, whenever I came to Paris, I would stay with him He gave me my own room and I still have it. My mum didn’t want me to go to discos and he never used to let me go One time, I climbed out of the window to a waiting taxi. When he found out, Azzedine put me in the room above him so that if I wanted to go out, I would have to go through his room.Now, when I come over, we sit around and watch TV. He loves Tunisia very much and has still got very strong roots. You can see that in the videos he watches – old Tunisian movies. We cook eggs, fish or lamb chops in the kitchen and have dinner. Now that I’ve got a little bit older, Azzedine also comes to my house But the most important thing is that we laugh We fight and we laugh.He’s a really big practical joker.

Over the 12 years I’ve know him, he has played so many on me. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s pricked me with pins during fittings. Sometimes, I’ve crept into bed at night and he’s put things under the covers I remember once I fell down the stairs There was no ice left in the freezer. So Azzedine put a leg of lamb on my head because it was the only thing he had that was frozen.Azzedine saw something in me and taught me to have confidence.

He is single and lives in Paris

NAOMI CAMPBELL: I first met Azzedine when I was 16. It was my first day working in Paris and somebody had stolen all my money. I didn’t know anyone in the city and didn’t know how I was going to eat. A fellow model who was doing a show with Azzedine then brought me to dinner, and I ate very well.