John Rocha

“I always promised myself that I wouldn't do catwalk shows until the day I died.”

“Fashion is instant - after six months, it disappears, and you have to start again. That's the nature of it.”

“As I get older and older, people like my work more and more.”

“There was the Cultural Revolution just over the border, and Hong Kong felt quite dodgy. My younger brother's wife actually swam from China to Hong Kong to escape. I realised in the '60s that I had to get out.”

“I made my final collection in college in London using Irish handwoven wool. That is how I discovered Ireland first; I just fell in love with it, really.”

“I want to explore my design philosophy in different mediums, and I'm very interested in architecture.”

“Talent always shouts at you.”

“I love fashion, but fashion is not my whole life.”

“It was a very, very happy childhood, but I always knew I wanted to see the world.”

“At primary school, we would pick up plastic petals on the way home to make flowers. Now you might call it child labour, but we did it for pocket money.”

“I believe that IT is the way forward. Every other industry utilises IT, and I feel that fashion needs to use it more extensively to move forward.”

“We have achieved tremendous success in Ireland and internationally on the strength of our creativity and design skills.”

“Many women in their 40s make the mistake of wearing clothes that are too tight. Skimpy dresses and tight trousers can make you look older, so get the best fit you can find.”

“I always have a cigar when I catch a fish.”

“My dream home would be a fishing lodge in New Zealand.”

“Beautiful fabrics last; synthetics don't. Certain fabrics, such as linen or cotton, develop their own character over time.”

“My Chinese grandmother was a dressmaker, so I always enjoyed dressing up and looking cool.”

“I can speak Cantonese, but I can't speak about fashion - I learnt all my fashion in Europe, so often, during interviews in Chinese I just don't know the right word - it can be very hard to explain things.”

“My family was quite poor, and the NHS was recruiting people from abroad to do psychiatric nursing. It was the only hope I had to leave Hong Kong.”

“We cater for fashion-conscious people.”