A man in a well tailored suit will always shine brighter than a guy in an off-the-rack suit.
American women often fall into the trap of, ‘Oh, these are my weekend clothes. These are my work clothes. This is what I wear at night.’ It’s so old-fashioned.
Americans are always a little bit insecure.
Because of what’s going on with the economy, I think women are realizing that maybe they don’t need a closet full of clothes. They just need the right clothes.
Clothes are like a good meal, a good movie, great pieces of music.
For all of my gregariousness, I’m still a pretty private person, and I live a pretty low-key life.
For me, true luxury can be caviar or a day with no meetings, no appointments and no schedule.
Give me Caviar Kaspia and give me a hamburger. I love the two extremes.
Half the fun of shopping is the tissue paper, the box, and the shopping or garment bag.
I am the oldest young designer in New York City.
I can sketch up a storm, and I’m very involved in how clothes are constructed, but I have a short attention span.
I can’t dance and I can’t sing too well.
I don’t even think of going to Europe as going to another country now.
I grew up in a family of people who were obsessed with fashion.
I grew up surrounded by these tough, ballsy, strong women. They were also adoring women, but they were the kind of women who would argue over what kind of pants you were wearing or the color of your nail polish.
I know what women look good in. I don’t think the rules ever change.
I look everywhere, from books to film to art exhibits. But I’d have to say the most deeply textured source of inspiration for me is travel.
I love a tabloid.
I personally think the worst thing I did of my design career was bodysuits for men.
I probably have 50 books in me – everything from anecdotes to fashion ideas.
I think a lot of women have too many mini skirts in their closets.
I think the older I get, the more I realize that the ultimate luxury is time.
I think women are realizing that maybe they don’t need a closetful of clothes. They just need the right clothes.
I wasn’t Barbie-obsessed. I think my mother might have been my Barbie.
I wear the same thing every day. I always pack two black jackets, loads of black T-shirts, loads of white jeans. I feel a little fresh and glamorous and graphic.
I’m a terrible sewer.
In the ’80s, it got to the point where we’d have shows with a hundred looks. You’d want to order a pizza before it was over!
Learn to invest in the best quality you can afford and wear pieces in different ways.
Men look their best when you cannot tell how long they took to get ready – and their worst when they look all rigged up and groomed like they should be in a fashion spread.
My apartment looks like no one lives in it.
My legacy would be that you don’t have to give up anything. You can be chic but have a sense of humor, you can be sexy but comfortable, you can be timeless but fresh.
My mom was a model. She had me at 20, so she was a young mother.
North Americans as a whole need to embrace having clothes altered to their body. I hear it all the time: why do the Europeans always look so good? They have a relationship with their tailor and spend the time and money to make their clothes look their best.
Patience is not my virtue.
People always think that designers hate each other. And we’re certainly a competitive lot, but we also enjoy each other’s company.
People want to look taller and thinner. No one says, ‘Ooh! Let me buy that dress because it makes me feel matronly!’
The ’90s will be looked back on as ushering in an era of comfort.
The biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that fashion is this tightrope where you have to be consistent but inconsistent. You need the connective thread but at the same time you need a sense of surprise.
The nice thing about having this history is that it gives you the confidence to say, ‘Oh, that’s very Michael Kors’.
There are two kinds of designers: ones who are very happy locked in their office surrounded by their coterie. The last thing they need to do is to go to a trunk show; they’d go running for the hills
There’s a whole generation of women who never really heard the word investment before, when it came to fashion. They’ve been buying things because they were cheap.
When I was a kid, I was trendier. I’d wear anything. I was in love beads and platforms.
When you try on something, you have to ask yourself, ‘How many ways could I wear this? Could I wear it to work? To dinner or drinks? Will it span the seasons’ If you have to think too hard about those questions, then skip it.
