Alexander Wang became a fashion designer because he didn't like sport.

The creative director of Balenciaga got interested in dresses and design by reading magazines and watching MTV to satisfy his fascination with supermodels while his school friends were out playing sports.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper's Fashion magazine, he revealed: ''There's no, like, my mum was a seamstress, or anything like that.

''I never really played sports after school like the other kids did. So instead I discovered fashion and magazines, and I kind of filtered everything through that. Even then, I knew fashion wasn't just about designers. I loved Japanese street style magazines, and I was a big fanatic over models. I can still remember how excited I was when MTV did a show, 'A Day in The Life of Gisele', or something.''

Despite his collections frequently containing vast amounts of sportswear including mesh T-shirts and tracksuit bottoms, Alexander's shunning of sport continues, as has confessed he never goes to the gym.

The 31-year-old designer said: ''A lot of people find that surprising, but to me the point is that sportswear has a functionality to it. It's what you see people wearing in the street, carrying in their bags. It has a very direct connection to our lives and that's what I love about it - it's not so much about being sporty as about being active and functional and easy.''