ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

I come from a different era and I design clothes for our era. I think of people I want to dress when I design.

I just want to be a wallflower. Nondescript. Just not anything. I don't want to see me.

When a woman gets dressed up to go out at night, she wants to give 50% away, and hold the rest back. If you're an open book, there's no allure.

I work with people I admire and respect. It's never because of who they are.

Clothes and jewellery should be startling, individual. When you see a woman in my clothes, you want to know more about them. To me, that is what distinguishes good designers from bad designers.

Now I design what I want to wear, and it works that way.

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

I want to empower women.

For people who know McQueen, there is always an underlying message. It's usually only the intellectual ones who understand what's going on in what I do.

As a designer, you've always got to push yourself forward; you've always got to keep up with the trends or make your own trends. That's what I do.

The turnover of fashion is just so quick and so throwaway, and I think that is a big part of the problem. There is no longevity.

I'm not big on women looking naive.

Really, what I'm aiming for is world domination!

I think I should be a president. President of the United States.

My relationships with producers or photographers - these are relationships that took years.

I hate it when people romanticize Scotland.

There has to be a balance between your mental satisfaction and the financial needs of your company.

Youth culture now really looks back and embraces the past, but keeps it contemporary but not sticking to one particular style.

I never look at other people's work. My mind has to be completely focused on my own illusions.

I always wanted to be a designer. I read books on fashion from the age of 12.

Sting's my ideal man, because he's a real man.

I'm interested in designing for posterity.

Give me time and I'll give you a revolution.

You can only go forward by making mistakes.

I've had good times; I've had bad times.