Smart Words on Fashion and Art From the People Who Know it Best

September 27, 2009 on 5:39 am | In quotes | Comments Off

Anyone can give advice on fashion. However, for some matters, it’s best to leave opinion to the experts. After all, they’re the ones who managed to make a living out of this zany industry we call fashion, managing to endure day in and day out the trials and tribulations of one of the craziest businesses in the world. But it’s those experts who know fashion the best. So when it comes to tips and words of wisdom, it’s pretty much best to just listen to them.

From his geeky days to his new rock-hard yoga body, designer Marc Jacobs has been in charge of huge fashion houses and his own line. Famous quote: “I’d like to believe that the women who wear my clothes are not dressing for other people, that they’re wearing what they like and what suits them. It’s not a status thing.”

For designer Issac Mizrahi, fashion just wasn’t enough–he had to have a television show, too. After years in the business, he’s got more than enough insight and zany quotes to fill several books, let alone a single article. Here’s one: “I don’t like people to feel completely described by the clothes they wear of mine. I want them to feel that they’re describing themselves.”

Part model, part musician, part actress, Grace Jones was one of the seminal figures of the 1970s downtown New York scene. Her influence in the modeling world is still felt, and she was one of the few performers who did a truly decadent job of dressing herself: “Models are there to look like mannequins, not like real people. Art and illusion are supposed to be fantasy.”

Wolfgang Tillmans is very familiar with models and designers, having photographed them all for years now. Famous quote: “Magazines have always been an active platform which I can use to disseminate my work, but also a generator of work when I’m commissioned to do something. If I approach these pictures as a potential to make actual work rather than just as a job, then this is good for my practice. That’s an element that never really gets thought about in terms of my magazine work. I use magazines as a tool to make work.”

More than just the host of “Project Runway,” Tim Gunn is a fashion icon in his own right, from his time teaching at Parsons and The New School to his impeccable taste for smart suits. Always well-dressed and quotable, his insight on fashion is unparalleled: “The larger-than-size-4 market is robust and is in need of good designers.”

Fashion designer Jeremy Scott is known for his hilarious and fabulous fashion shows in Paris. Since relocating to Los Angeles, he’s managed to grab the attention of major States-side celebrities. Famous quote: “I’ve never met someone that I thought, oh my god what the — is she doing with my clothes? It’s always cute kids and that’s the most flattering. It’s people I would like to know or would like to talk to, people who have similar interests too. That’s the whole thing about fashion: it’s not only about the clothes but also about the people.”

A man who knows what it’s like to turn a name into a brand, Ralph Lauren set the bar for accessible yet proper fashion and what it means to create a lifestyle instead of just a garment. Famous quote: “I’d like to believe that the women who wear my clothes are not dressing for other people, that they’re wearing what they like and what suits them. It’s not a status thing.

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