Life to me is a bit of a (Brothers) Grimm fairy tale.

My friend George and I were walking on the beach in Norfolk, and there were thousands of [razor-clam] shells. They were so beautiful, I thought I had to do something with them. So, we decided to make [a dress] out of them. . . . The shells had outlived their usefulness on the beach, so we put them to another use on a dress. Then Erin [O’Conner] came out and trashed the dress, so their usefulness was over once again. Kind of like fashion, really.

For me, what I do is an artistic expression which is channeled through me. Fashion is just the medium.

You've got to know the rules to break them. That's what I'm here for, to demolish the rules but to keep the tradition.

There has to be a balance between your mental satisfaction and the financial needs of your company. (But) I always remember that it's the fantasy, the artistic side, that makes customers want to buy the straightforward black pants.

You can hide so much behind theatrics, and I don't need to do that any more.

You can only go forward by making mistakes. I'm twenty-seven, not fifty-seven. I'm not Givenchy, I'm Alexander McQueen.