“Fashion is, ultimately, about nothing but appearance – and money. It is one enterprise in which the colour of the skin is far more important than the individual inside it.”
Colin McDowell
Photo source: Elle France 27 December 2013 (photography: Matt Jones, styling: Elissa Castelbou)
“A garment can be very beautiful, but if you don’t feel good in it, it will never look beautiful. Of course it’s important that you like what clothes you wear: clothes are the first thing we know about each other. We don’t meet each other naked.”
Ann Demeulemeester
Photo source: Vogue US February 2002 (photography: Carter Smith)
“Fashion is not just about decoration, it’s much deeper. Pure can be rich and opulent, too. The purer it gets, the more quality you need. Minimal, when it’s dry and has no energy, looks poor.”
Jil Sander
Photo source: Vogue Nippon May 2009 (photography: Nathaniel Goldberg; styling: Marie Chaix)
“Fashion is about changing yourself into the person you dream of being.. and then feeling better about yourself and with the others.”
Carine Roitfeld
Photo source: Marie Claire Netherlands December 2013 (photography: Hans Van Brakel; styling: Simone Dernee)
“There are women in fashion that want to be like all the other ones, but fashion can show your differences and that is beautiful because we are each unique.”
Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo source: “Glamour parade", Madame Figaro France February 2010 (photography: Esther Haase)
“Every woman would be well advised to discover her own length and never shift too far from it.”
Giorgio Armani
Photo source: Elle France August 1993
“The woman is never sexier than when she is comfortable in her clothes.”
Vera Wang
Photo source: Emily DiDonato wearing Vera Wang in Vogue Mexico April 2012 (photography: Jean-Francois Campos; styling: Sarah Gore-Reeves)
“There is something special about clothes that are made by women (at the atelier) and not by machine. They do something for the clothes. There is a huge difference when I see a suit, or pants and a shirt being done by the atelier, and the same pieces done by a factory. It’s an emotion. Zara can’t copy that.”
Alber Elbaz
Photo source: Natalia Vodianova wearing Christian Dior Couture by John Galliano in Vogue US October 2008 (photography: Patrick Demarchelier; styling: Grace Coddington)
“One is born with good taste. It’s very hard to acquire. You can acquire the patina of taste.”
Diana Vreeland
Photo source: Sofia Coppola wearing Chloe in AnOther September 2009 (photography: Craig McDean)
“I believe in timelessness. it’s not a trend, it’s not a moment; it’s life. And it’s a dream life, it’s a wonderful life.”
Ralph Lauren
Photo source: Bette Franke wearing Ralph Lauren (and Ferragamo skirt) in Elle France September 2013 (photography: Thomas Whiteside; styling: Jeanne Le Bault)
“Go for whatever you believe in as a long as you don’t fake it.”
Alber Elbaz
Photo source: Marie Claire France October 2013 (photography: Max Cardell; styling: Laurence Alexandre)
“Fashion is about emotion. It’s not about shocking. It’s about what you want to wear.”
Ricardo Tisci
Photo source: L’Officiel Brazil July 2007
Karl Lagerfeld is a bit like an iceberg – we only get to see the very top that, whilst incredibly impressive, is still just, well, an incredibly impressive preview.
With his new book, Lagerfeld opens a door into his world just a crack wider giving us a chance to explore, learn, smile, frown and adore for every witty and refreshingly frank hand-picked quote on fashion, Chanel, style, life, luxury, books and the man himself is like a delicious nugget of wisdom to absorb, digest and nourish the mind.
Visually, the hardback black and white edition is beautiful to look at and enjoyable to browse, so whether you admire the designer, a nonsense-free conversation or need a solid reference for numerous quotes (there’s nothing worse than relying on Pinterest for those!) that somewhat reflect your own perception of life, the The World According to Karl will definitely make a welcoming addition to your fashion library.
To start you off, here are some of my favourite…
“Fashion is of the moment. The best thing that can happen to a dress is that it gets worn. Fashion isn’t about museum exhibits.”
“Trendy is the last stage before tacky.”
“Young designers are so nice, but often they have no technical knowledge. Valentino and I sweated for years, he at Desses, me at Balmain. We knew we weren’t there to play art critics, we were there to learn.”
“To think appearances don’t count these days is a lie: it lets you live in harmony with yourself.”
“Chanel left us with something better than fashion: style. And style, as she preached it, doesn't’ grow old.”
“My work is not to make he Chanel suit survive, but to make sure it lives.”
“I hate ostrich skin. It makes me think of a mummy that had regular acne.”
“The essential thing in life is to reinvent oneself.”
“Buying books is a real disease for me, but I don’t want to be cured.”
***
The book is available on amazon, Net-a-Porter, Shopbop and Barney’s.
“Fashion week used to be something with a certain degree of quality, but now it resembles the ready-to-wear trade fairs of the 1980s.”
Nicolas Ghesquiere
System magazine, issue no.1
Photo source: City magazine, photography: Liam Alexander
“The purpose of dress design is to make people feel good, not to express the pain and the suffering of the world in taffeta.”
Karl Lagerfeld
Photo source: Vogue Italia May 1997 (photography: Perry Ogden; styling: Cathy Kasterine)
“Women don’t need a closet full of clothes. They just need the right clothes.”
Michael Kors
Photo source: L’Officiel Singapore September 2013 (photography: Chuando & Frey, styling: Jimius Wong, Jack Wang)
“Clothes means nothing until someone lives in them.”
Marc Jacobs
Photo source: Vogue Russia September 2003(photography: Jurgen Frank)
“I think bad taste is wanting to be too fashionable…”
Carole Rochas
Photo source: Vogue Italia October 1991
