My style is not that big. I wear heels, tight pants, and I wear diamonds.
— Donatella Versace
I wake up at about the same time every day. I sleep well and wake without an alarm clock.
I'm a designer, and I work very hard at that. People sometimes want to put down fashion by saying it's frivolous or superficial, but it's not that way at all. It's actually very hard work.
I think people need to see Prince live to really understand how remarkable he is. He has always been inspiring because he is never afraid to break rules or barriers or invent something new - and if you love fashion, then you need to be able to do that.
When my mother did fittings for her clients, I was hiding, looking at these beautiful ladies try on these fantastic clothes. I was dreaming as a small child to try these clothes on myself.
My mother didn't want me to be in fashion. She was in the fashion business, so was my brother, and she thought it was too crazy for me. She wanted me to be married with children, to be independent, yes, but not to have a crazy life.
Fashion is about dreaming and making other people dream.
New York is full of creative people, not only in fashion.
I don't even know what my natural colour is. Natural? What is natural? What is that? I do not believe in totally natural for women. For me, natural has something to do with vegetables.
Some men look great unshaven; others just look like they forgot to shave. Beards and mustaches can be really distinctive if you go for an earthy, rock-and-roll look like the Kings of Leon or the Killers.
I understand that the rule of fashion is to change, even as a successful designer - you do not want to be stuck in the same rut.
Women should be sure of themselves because women have a lot of capacities. We can achieve so many different things that men cannot. I think women are stronger.
In fashion, women have more sensitivity, more sense of the body, so they know how things fit and feel. Yet there are not many women who study fashion. It's ridiculous.
Showing your femininity should help your career and not go against your career. Dressing like a man, using the suit to look powerful - that was the '80s, and that didn't help women.
I studied at a university in Florence and finished my degree. My mother was very strict about this recipe: You need to get your degree.
I think people need to see Prince live to really understand how remarkable he is.
We all retire one day. If we want to, if we don't want to.
As with most things in my life, I believe you should try to enjoy yourself and never feel like you are a slave to a routine.
In order to be responsible, you need some discipline in your life.
I'm like a little kid when it comes to music. I mean, the music is always blasting wherever I am that people always knock on my door and say, 'It's too loud!' But I think music gives so much inspiration.
To define the era we live in is very difficult. How do we define it? We define it by music.
I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. She would cut the first pattern, and then she had people working for her. So I grew up in an atelier, watching people all around me sewing. I was fascinated.
To be Catholic puts a lot of fear in you. It's a great religion, but also one that can limit your experience. You fear experience because everything is a sin.
During the eighties and nineties, people wanted to be chic, elegant, bourgeois.
I always wear high heels - I simply feel naked without them.
Scent is very important. Strong fragrances suit some men, while citrus types suit others. I like my men to smell fresh and woody, but also like a man.
The three biggest fashion mistakes are cheap suits, shoes, and shirts. Spend your money on something good.
At that time of the supermodels, celebrities didn't want to be in fashion; they thought they were more intellectual and interesting than anyone in fashion.
I love Alexander McQueen. I like the construction of his suits. I think it's fantastic.
It's no good being too easily swayed by people's opinions. You have to believe in yourself.
I like to eat. Definitely. I love sitting around a table with my friends. But I don't know how to cook anything.
My muse changes all the time because I think every designer is a bit of a muse for themselves in a way - they just don't want to say it.
It's very important for a brand to have an identity through the years, but it's very important as well to evolve because times change so fast.
When I work, I wear pants usually because I want to be comfortable. I wear dark colors, especially in winter, because I don't want to concentrate on myself but on what I'm working on. Because I really, really love clothes, I can start to think too much about myself. It's distracting.
I do think that exercise is important, not only to keep you in shape but also for your state of mind. However, I am not fanatical about it.
Let's just say beauty inspires me. But I like all beauty - I think it really comes from the inside out.
You can never forget the time you're living in because the past is the past and it will never come back. So to adjust your philosophy and creativity in fashion to the time you're living in is the most important thing.
I was a fashion addict by the time I was 11 years old. I'd wear a miniskirt and patent-leather boots.
People are always surprised when they spend time with my children by how normal they are. They're polite. They're well mannered. They're very down to earth, in a way.
When I meet celebrities, I have to know what they are like and only then can I design. The clothes have to fit their personality.
Fashion is not frivolous.
The first thing I do each morning is get out of bed and give my dog, Audrey, a hug. She's a Jack Russell. I think having an animal is a wonderful thing, particularly dogs. They are great levelers, there's no nonsense with them, and they just want simple affection.
I find older men more attractive than boys. I need a man who can teach me a thing or two.
I have worked with wool all my life as a designer. There's so much more to it than knitwear - it's an amazingly versatile material and can be used in so many different ways from chic to rustic.
Women are all the same; we want to be smaller in the waist, longer legs, slimmer. I design for women and their defects, to make them better.
I don't see anybody categorized as a 'fashion diva,' except for me! And I like that. I am thought of as a diva because I wear an evening dress and I take care of my look when I go out. I go to parties regarding business, not for fun. And that's why they call me a 'diva.'
Plus-sized women shouldn't think of themselves as a size. They should think of themselves as women with rich goals in life. Size doesn't mean, really, anything. You can carry your size with pride and dress in a way that you like.
You couldn't define the '80s when the '80s were happening. We kept changing. We had shoulder pads, then we didn't. It was revealing, and then it was decoration. It was a lot of things at once. It was defined when it was over.
In mythology, the Medusa can petrify people with a look - which is a good thing, I think. But the Medusa is a unique symbol - something strong. It's about going all the way.
Hollywood is a very inspiring place.
