Karl Lagerfeld Says Carla Bruni is an Enviable First Lady

The September issue of Vanity Fair features French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on the cover and yet again poses the question, Is she the new Jackie O.? In the piece, written by Maureen Orth, Ms. Bruni is painted as a modern sort of woman who values her independence, remains friends with her many lovers (and their wives!), and prefers a president who wears blue jeans.

Read on as Ms. Bruni's explains herself and Karl Lagerfeld declares her the most enviable first lady.

On her independence:
“I think it is a major duty for a woman to be independent. Independence was my obsession when I was 20. It was not making money; it was making my own money. Modeling meant I did not have to rely on my parents or a man."

On her past lovers:
“It’s not that I had a lot of lovers. It’s that I never hide them. It’s a different thing. I have not one day of regret. I have a very good relationship with exes. I have a good relationship with all the boyfriends I had. Sometimes I’m the godmother of their children. I’m always good friends with their wives.

On her nude photos:
“I never realized how many nude pictures I did before I met Nicolas. I took him and said, ‘O.K., now I need to show you, because I posed in the nude. But I never did sexy pictures. They’re great artists. Plus, I have a body that would allow me to pose nude without being very provocative.”

On how the French press covered their relationship:
[Nicolas] from our generation. He doesn’t want to lie. He doesn’t want to have a second family somewhere. He never thought that our going to Egypt would make such a fuss. We took three days, and it lasted weeks and weeks [in the press]. It looks like we spent five weeks lying on the beach, and we spent two hours. And for one hour he talked with Bernard Kouchner, because they were working hard. I said, ‘Nicolas, it’s not fair that people think you don’t work just because you’ve been wearing jeans with me.’

Plus: Karl Lagerfeld on Ms. Bruni's new status:
"She’s imaginative, clever, educated. She knows how to behave. She speaks many languages. It must be an embarrassment for the wives of other heads of state to see this beautiful creature who can wear anything and speak like that. They are hunters who met—predators. It’s a good thing. He had seduced many women, and she was a kind of seductress. When two like this meet, it can be good.”