Luxury is what makes the world go round, and France is still top of the game, Karl Lagerfeld said Thursday at the opening of a celebrity-studded photo show devoted to Chanel’s little black jacket.

“There is a French touch that shows immediately,” said the white-haired German designer, who has all of Chanel’s clothes made in France — with the exception of shoes in Italy and knitwear in Britain.

“For now we are still unbeatable, but it is a battle,” he told AFP when asked about emerging market competitors snapping at the heels of the French and European luxury sector.

“If I don’t defend French luxury then I might as well leave,” he quipped.

“Luxury is stuff that nobody needs but it has a huge advantage: people want it. And people will make much more effort for a desire than for something they more or less need,” he said.