Diane von Furstenberg

“I am almost a vegetarian, and I meditate, do yoga and love to hike.”

“Fashion can be this mysterious thing that you can't explain.”

“Simplicity and sexiness, that's what people want. At a price that's not outrageous.”

“The wrap dress is the most traditional form of dressing: It's like a robe, it's like a kimono, it's like a toga. It doesn't have buttons or zippers. What made it different was that it was jersey; therefore, it was close to the body and it was a print.”

“The iPad! What is better designed than that? I read magazines on it, I play Scrabble. I use it for everything.”

“Bali and the Aman resorts are all very luxurious, great places to go.”

“I think all races are represented in America much more than in many other places, but it's also nice to remind people about that ethnic mix. I would like to see more black models and women from different ethnic backgrounds, but I also think that when you are casting, you just choose the most beautiful girl you can find.”

“Beauty is perfect in its imperfections, so you just have to go with the imperfections.”

“Confidence. If you have it, you can make anything look good.”

“Fashion Week is so important for designers.”

“I'm not someone who calculates things.”

“All women are the same, really: They are strong, but they are afraid of their own strength.”

“Animals come from nature. They were not designed. All my inspiration comes from nature, whether it's an animal or the layout of bark or of a leaf. Sometimes my patterns are very bold, and you can barely see where they come from, but all the textures and all the prints come out of nature.”

“I gave up on my looks a long time ago.”

“There's design, and there's art. Good design is total harmony. There's no better designer than nature - if you look at a branch or a leaf, it's perfect. It's all function. Art is different. It's about emotion. It's about suffering and beauty - but mostly suffering!”

“I wanted to be an independent woman, a woman who could pay for her bills, a woman who could run her own life - and I became that woman.”

“I communicate mostly via e-mail and receive hundreds of e-mails a day.”

“I was lucky because I got so successful so early, and when you get successful early, then you can afford to be a little bit humble.”

“The most important relationship you have in life is the one you have with yourself. And then after that, I'd say once you have that, it may be hard work, but you can actually design your life.”

“If you're a good person, the goodness will continue through your descendants.”