I really hated school. I had the feeling I was losing a lot of time.
— Olivier Theyskens
Personality is so important - when you dress somebody for a big party, it is good to feel that the person has an ease and naturalness with what she is wearing.
When Princess Diana got married, I was a very little kid, I think. I remember her dress, and I found the dress amazing when I was a kid.
We always see the point of an iceberg. So I've always accepted the idea that people - they don't necessarily know everything I am.
As a designer, I'm not a guy that can be put in a niche.
It's interesting for me because in my work, a lot of times, I like to scrutinize the clothes and think what's going to make them look dated, and I do the same with vintage. In vintage, you want something unique and different, but at the same time, something that doesn't make you look like you dress like a grandpa.
Historical costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries look so complicated, but when you see the patterns, it's very systematic. I've always been impressed by how the patterns economize the fabric.
If you are a girl dressing up in the morning thinking about the whole world having a point of view on what you are wearing, it takes the pleasure out of getting dressed.
Our eyes reflect light. Better that the lips are more like a rose petal.
A black dress is beautiful! It's a good choice. It could be the wrong choice at certain events or situations, but it's very rare that you see a girl who looks bad in a black dress.
I am interested in the idea of 'taste.' And by 'taste,' I mean opinion, inspiration and the craft of creating a personality through fabric and design.
For a long time I have been thinking about affordable fashion - you can be disappointed when not so many people can wear your stuff.
I think the relationship is very tenuous between fashion and art. Many designers have built relationships with artists, which is not something I personally did. But it's true, sometimes you see artists working for a designer or a brand on some specific project or taking care of their environment and making an amazing store.
In fashion, we don't often know the prices. We don't have time to go into the stores.
Today there are more things you can wear for the same occasions. I still like this idea of the perfect suit, and I always love tailoring, but today you can have more things for this type of situation, clothes that have class and that are mixable, and that are super well cut.
My mother loved fashion and always had a great aesthetic. But she also considered the cost of it, with the kids, that it wasn't something to allow herself.
People who don't know me sometimes call me 'Mademoiselle.'
I see the city as an organism, shaped through time by the little humans having habits and doing millions of stuff in and out of it.
I don't think couture will die. But it should have no pretension that it will conquer the world. It's not something that will disappear because all you need is a thread and a needle to start making something couture.
I like to be lazy. I do like to be busy and really active, but when that's done, you can be sure I will be a lazy boy. I like to take time and relax and enjoy life.
What is funny is when you do a futuristic movie, you immediately get to be fashionable because you're creating something that doesn't exist.
When I was young, watching historical movies made me feel absolutely sublime. But the first few times I visited costume museums, I was really disappointed because it was not at the level I saw in movies. It was not the level of the image I'd imagined.
When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.
I rarely stay at home when I'm in New York. I'm always doing things. It brings you so much energy.
My first collection was made from sheets that my grandmother, who lived in Normandy, had been collecting for a long time. There are a lot of flea markets in that part of France, and she knew what I liked.
My sense of designing is a mix of intuition and intellectual control.
Art is the way people see things, and I think it's great when individuals can find in fashion something they truly believe is artistic.
I've admired historical clothes like Victorian gowns since I was a child, and it's what motivated me to go into fashion.
I'm kind of obsessed with cool girls.
Personally, I am not so affected by my environment. What I build in the creative process is not necessarily connected to what I am physically in contact with. I am always observing everything, but it will not necessarily have a direct impact on what I do.
When I started at Ricci, I did street wear for very cool, young girls, but the price point was for the fourth floor of Bergdorf Goodman next to Carolina Herrera. My cool girls cannot afford it.
I haven't made many wedding dresses. It's a dress very, very important for the girl; it's important to know the person, I believe, but at the same time it should be a shock to the person - the person should be shocked to be suddenly revealed. That's the work of a designer sometimes, to propose an ID of look.
What is sure is that the satellite view of our world and its evolution is now a common reality.
Even during the golden age of fashion, you had haute couture houses where the designers didn't have money.
I am not a designer that buys vintage to be inspired.
The aim of being a good designer is to have an influence. If you design furniture or lifestyle, you should influence the way people evolve globally. It's good to have an influence.
I could live naked... I love it.
I always like to preserve my freedom. I've never really been attached to any place; that's probably why I kept moving. I like to evolve.
I feel super lucky to be living in New York. I love the city, I love the energy. I always loved it. I had pictures of New York in my bedroom when I was young.
When I was very young, I wanted to be a girl. I was jealous that girls got to be princesses and wear skirts. It tormented me. When I was 6, I even heard that you could change your sex, and I was very intrigued until the moment I realized that if I changed into a girl, I would be an ugly girl, and this is the last thing I wanted to be.
With couture, you feel obligated to design something modern each season, but with Theyskens Theory, I don't question anything. I'm thinking of what I'd like to wear.
Personally, I have had sometimes moments where I thought my idea behind the idea of a collection - the concept maybe - something that we don't see at the end on the catwalk, I think the way it was, the genesis in my mind, was probably artistic, an artistic approach.
I didn't understand the advantages of staying active until I was about 27.
The only shoes that look futuristic are Crocs, but they would be terrible to use in a futuristic movie.
