German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has branded Russian men as ugly, Greeks as corrupt and Queen Elizabeth as being a more smiley version of her grandmother Queen Victoria, in a column he wrote as guest editor-in-chief of Tuesday's edition of Metro, a global newspaper.

Lagerfeld, who is no stranger to controversial remarks, did not mince his words.

· Russian women. “If I was a woman in Russia I would be a lesbian, as the men are very ugly. There are a few handsome ones, like Naomi Campbell's boyfriend, but there you see the most beautiful women and the most horrible men."

· Vladimir Putin. “You know he looks great. I don’t even know how old he is. Well, I don’t think he is that old.”

· Barack Obama. “I'm a big fan of Mrs. Obama and her face, I think, is magical. My favorite thing about Mrs. Obama was when she was asked if her skirt was not too tight and she answered, ‘Why, you don't like my big black ass?’ I want Obama to win because there is nothing better anyway, and especially because of her."

· Giving the finger. "Today many people show the middle finger too often, that’s not very good. Everybody does it, what’s new about it? It looks like a bad habit.”

· Greek debt crisis. "Greece needs to work on a cleaner image. It's a big problem, as they have this reputation of being so corrupt. You can't be sure the money will go where it's supposed to go.”

· Political correctness. “It is very difficult to speak about something because everything is recorded as soon as you open your mouth. Sometimes you can't even make a joke. One can be politically correct but one mustn't be boring. People should be tactful in these issues but you can not make a lot of fuss about this correctness."

In a concession to modesty perhaps, Lagerfield pointed out "I have insecurities of course, but I don't hang out with anyone who points them out to me."