Nicola Formichetti

“I think old people should just be old and go away.”

“Actually, I never liked the idea of bags. I would say, 'Why do so many of my friends spend so much money on these bloody bags?' But once I started designing them, I was completely hooked. There are all of these blogs about bags. It's a whole other industry, and I'm really excited to be a part of it.”

“Japan, for me, will always be my inspiration source.”

“My uniform is usually just comfortable clothing. Being a stylist, you spend most of the day at photo shoots covered in safety pins.”

“Style has replaced elegance. Before, I believed that style is something a person embodied. But now it's so easy to buy good style if you have the money.”

“Working in a store and being a shop assistant, if you don't know what to do and you like fashion, I think it's a great way of getting into the business because you do windows, cleaning, and everything. That was my school for two years, working in a shop, and that's how I met people in magazines and designers.”

“I live between Europe, America and Asia.”

“Fashion is such an insider's club, but slowly, the playing field is evening out. Through social media, everyone can have a front-row seat.”

“The Internet shapes my life and work so completely that I couldn't imagine living without it.”

“My muse is the digital world.”

“I'm half-Japanese, so I collect toys, like a Yayoi Kusama stuffed pumpkin.”

“I'm saving up to buy art. Nothing famous, but every time I'm in a new city I wander into galleries and dream about buying great pieces one day.”

“I want young people to be able to buy into what I design. When I was young, I wanted to buy designer brands even if all I could afford was the cheapest wallet, the cheapest pen, the cheapest T-shirt because I wanted to be a part of it.”

“Fans don't lie. They just tell you what they really think, and they see details that even people in fashion don't.”

“Thierry Mugler is about the power of glamour and walking straight into the future. He's been a god for successive generations in the fashion industry. He fused pop and high fashion, told a story in style and combined fantasy with reality.”

“I love meeting people, and I know it's so difficult for people to come up to me and introduce themselves, so when they do, I'll grab them and hug them. It makes their day, you know? I love that, and I get positive energy from that.”

“I think when you start talking about money, it stops the whole creative process for me.”

“Uniqlo as a company has always developed new fabrics and is always trying to be innovative. The design is simple, so the fabric is important.”

“I'm not a typical couturier, although I really respect them.”

“I was born in Japan, so for me, Uniqlo is a family brand. My granny used to wear Uniqlo. And my Italian dad wore Uniqlo. I wore Uniqlo, of course.”