Opinion | Haider Ackermann is a designer who prefers to shun the limelight

I love my work but I'm not one of those designers who needs to be noticed," Haider Ackermann confides.

Many would disagree. In the past few years the designer has gone from an emerging talent to a fashion star that everyone wants. Right in the middle of Paris Fashion Week, the Haider Ackermann showroom is packed. Buyers are busy filling orders, while models navigate the tiny aisles dressed in floor-sweeping coats and tailored separates. In the corner sits a pensive, solitary figure, quietly observing the scene around him. He looks out of place among the glamazons with his dark unruly hair, rounded spectacles and yards of fabric draped around his neck. It's only when people greet him excitedly that you realise that this is the man behind the elegant creations that line the racks.

"Now that my show is over I just want to escape. Being a designer is so different now. I don't think it's necessary to show yourself everywhere, or be a part of everything. This is not something that intrigues me. I don't understand things like Instagram. Why do you need to keep the audience updated about your life? I don't see the point. Who would be interested in my life in the first place?"

Many would disagree, especially in his case. Ackermann's name has often been bandied about in recent years, especially when there's been an opening at a big fashion house. First it was rumoured that Martin Margiela asked him to take over his brand when he retired, then he was apparently up for a role at Givenchy. In 2010 Karl Lagerfeld famously told Numero magazine that Ackermann would be ideal successor for his job at Chanel. When Galliano was ousted from Dior, the press insisted that he had the job until it was announced that Raf Simons had taken the role.

"My name was placed with so many houses - it felt like I had many lovers. At a certain point it was annoying as it was disrespectful to other people. I found it hard, because everyone had something to say.

"It was so sad when Mr Galliano left Dior. I would love him to come back because he is the person that made me dream. Not many people can do that. If people carry us away and make us travel with our minds it's such a luxury these days. We are not able to do that any more," he says.