Nicola Formichetti

“Having plants and flowers in my space makes me feel very calm and Zen. For me, it's important to meditate every morning to be very clear in the head, and nature really helps me do the same thing.”

“My mom was my muse - she would buy me Italian 'Vogue.' I was this little fashion boy.”

“I like places where you can dance to crazy music, like Bedlam or Eastern Bloc in the East Village.”

“I never wanted to work with celebrities. I have no interest. I don't really care about their egos and their publicists.”

“I am terrible at making food. I love eating, but I can't make anything.”

“It's so important as a creative person to go out and look for things. Go to galleries, talk to people, read books. Yes, you can just type something into Google, but if you read and interact, you'll have a deeper understanding of the world.”

“When I first moved to London for university, I was already a big fan of Diesel because, in the nineties, Diesel was, like, the brand. The stores were the place to go. It wasn't workwear like Levi's or G-Star.”

“Social networking inspires me a lot and how we are related and connected to each other.”

“I'm not a designer, I'm a creator.”

“The dark side of social media is that, within seconds, anything can be blown out of proportion and taken out of context. And it's very difficult not to get swept up in it all.”

“I'm not an elitist. I hate the fashion industry sometimes because it becomes so focused on the elite.”