Diane von Furstenberg

“A challenging economy is always good for design. It unites necessity and functionality. You are forced to be creative with poor materials.”

“I design for the woman who loves being a woman.”

“There's design, and there's art. Good design is total harmony. There's no better designer than nature - if you look at a branch or a leaf, it's perfect. It's all function. Art is different. It's about emotion. It's about suffering and beauty - but mostly suffering!”

“The way I design generally is very much travel-oriented because that is my life. That's why I make clothes that are so light and so easy to pack and a little bit seasonless.”

“The most important relationship you have in life is the one you have with yourself. And then after that, I'd say once you have that, it may be hard work, but you can actually design your life.”

“My favorite days are the ones where I deal only with my own team, design, marketing, working on the next accessories collection.”

“I never like to think that I design for a particular person. I design for the woman I wanted to be, the woman I used to be, and - to some degree - the woman I'm still a little piece of.”

“Italy will always have the best food.”

“I had arranged a birthday party for him and my children, who are all Aquarians. Instead, we got married. I ran out of excuses. It was just us and my children.”

“I wanted to be an independent woman, a woman who could pay for her bills, a woman who could run her own life - and I became that woman.”

“Attitude is everything.”

“I travel light. I think the most important thing is to be in a good mood and enjoy life, wherever you are.”

“I never modeled myself after anyone. The person who had most influence on me was my mother, but it was really for her strength and courage more than her style, even though she had a lot of style. In a weird way, looking at pictures of me when I was 17 or 18, I was dressing the same way. I haven't changed very much.”

“Clarity is the most important thing. I can compare clarity to pruning in gardening. You know, you need to be clear. If you are not clear, nothing is going to happen. You have to be clear. Then you have to be confident about your vision. And after that, you just have to put a lot of work in.”