Dries van Noten Quotes

More than trends, consumers need functionality. Everything needs an element of fashion, but that's more like a spice.

I design for real people. I think of our customers all the time. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothing or accessories that are not practical.

I always design the hat with the wearer in mind; otherwise, it's an inanimate object.

Instead of using the machine as a metaphor for architecture, as Le Corbusier did, I use the human body. I want the public to know that it's them I'm designing for.

To whom does design address itself: to the greatest number, to the specialist of an enlightened matter, to a privileged social class? Design addresses itself to the need.

I think that the point of being an architect is to help raise the experience of everyday living, even a little. Putting a window where people would really like one. Making sure a shaving mirror in a hotel bathroom is at the right angle. Making bureaucratic buildings that are somehow cheerful.

Function alone does not make clothing appealing.

Analog is more beautiful than digital, really, but we go for comfort.

I design for the working girl.

Between two products equal in price, function and quality, the better looking will outsell the other.

I want people to love to sit in my chairs. You gotta want the people to buy it because they love it.

I design for the use of a building and the place and for the people who use it... the reputation for arrogance comes because when work is offered to me, I look whether I can find a genuine interest in quality.

I always tried to design something new and of the moment. The idea was not to make something that would last, but to make something a woman could really wear when she needed it, like a good friend.

I design for the woman who loves being a woman.

In the matter of furnishing, I find a certain absence of ugliness far worse than ugliness.

Comfort? If a choice has to be made between style and comfort, style wins every time.

The products people like best start with function and wind up with look.

As if a device can function if it has no style. As if a device can be called stylish that does not function superbly... yes, beauty matters. Boy, does it matter. It is not surface, it is not an extra, it is the thing itself.

Design is everything.

Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works.

Style without content is bad style.

In designing hardware to be used every day, it was important to keep both the human aspects and the machine in mind. What looks good also often feels good.

We spent a lot of time trend forecasting and collaborating on ways to design a fresh line of fashion-forward, affordable luxury.

Design is people.

I realize that having a style would be very beneficial for my practice from a marketing standpoint, but I can't do it. I believe my responsibilities as an architect are to design the most appropriate building for the place. Each place has a distinct culture and function, which for me requires an appropriate answer.