Dame Vivienne Westwood doesn't follow fashion.

The esteemed British designer never pays attention to what her rivals are doing and only attends catwalk shows when she wants to make a personal statement.

She told French VOGUE magazine: ''I must admit, I don't follow anything that happens on the runways, I have no idea what other people are doing. I only went to one single fashion show last season in Paris, and only so photographers would get a picture of my t-shirt supporting [WikiLeaks founder] Julian Assange.''

The 72-year-old star claims to be equally clueless about whether her collections will flop or not, since she only makes clothes which appeal to her punk-inspired aesthetic and not women as a whole.

Vivienne confessed: ''To be honest, I've never wondered what women want from fashion. I only create based on my own tastes and I'm incapable of predicting the success (or failure) of a collection.

''I have had certain intuitions - my Victorian corsets, for instance, worked well but it was a bit risky at the time. I just think I owe it all to luck rather than the power of prediction.''

The fashion legend cites iconic French designer YVES SAINT LAURENT - who passed away in June 2008 - as one of the all time greats and believes no one has quite met his high standards yet.

Vivienne said: ''I try to avoid the question of whether fashion is art. But I'm still tempted to give a simple answer: it depends on who's doing it. In my opinion, only Yves Saint Laurent has ever been able to manage it.

''Everything he did was always perfect, always a triumph. He metamorphosed women into real animated artworks.''