Rei Kawakubo Quotes

For something to be beautiful it doesn’t have to be pretty.

Fashion is something that you can attach to yourself, put on, and through that interaction, the meaning of it is born.

Creation takes things forward. Without anything new there is no progress. Creation equals new.

I make clothes for a woman who is not swayed by what her husband thinks.

My energy comes from freedom and a rebellious spirit.

The more people that are afraid when they see new creation, the happier I am.

Because the fundamental human problem is that people are afraid of change.

I don't feel too excited about fashion today People just want cheap fast clothes and are happy to look like everyone else

You can tell if it's a good collection if people are afraid of it. In ten years, everyone will love it.

Beauty is whatever anyone thinks is beautiful.

For me, creation can only come out of a certain kind of unhappiness. They say in Japan, this thing like the hungry spirit - the hungry mind - is what gets you going forward.

I work in three shades of black.

My intention is not to make clothes. My head would be too restricted if I only thought about making clothes.

Fashion is not art. The aims of fashion and art are different and there is no need to compare them.

Feeling free inside oneself is being free.

The same spirit runs through everything I do.

There are no limits - I endeavor to make clothes that didn't exist before.

I haven't yet made clothes that I have been totally satisfied with, and maybe I never will.

For me, I haven't succeeded in any way whatsoever.

Not only in the creative world but also in the sports world. The most successful achievers in sports are people that are really driven and have that spirit of hunger.

I don't think of myself as anyone special, and I would not know how to define myself.

I'd rather [the collection] have no title. Journalists like titles. That's why I give them to you.

It would have more meaning for me to hear what critics have to say if their values and their ways of living were deeper and more serious.

I identified very much with punk, not only in the fashion sector, but in every other sector. The very nature of doing something new and free meant something that was against authority.

Celebrity doesn't really affect the work. What affects the work is the expectations from the outside. This is what no one understands.

The very, very first thing that I wanted was to make a living - be independent and have a job. It might have come later, that kind of reaction to the boringness of fashion.

I am a clothes maker, and that's all I am. I only want to talk about the making of the clothes. I don't feel the need to go out there and explain that.

I always just wanted to have enough to carry on. I never had ambitions to take over the world or be a global enterprise. But I wanted to have a strong business in order to do the main objective.

In the sense that anarchy equals freedom, yes. Anarchy means freedom, but it also means chaos.

What's good about many people liking the work is that when I want to collaborate or am interested in the synergy of artists working together, nobody ever says no to me when I ask to work with them.

Every time before a collection, I say, "I don't want it to come out. I want to cancel it. It's not good. I haven't achieved anything."

Most of the things I read from journalists are, you know, a little bit simplified and easy.

I'd make my whole collection with just one square of fabric. I wouldn't do anything else; everything had to be made from one square. This is just one example.

In the '70s, if anything, it was a more interesting time in fashion. It was a time when things were changing, especially in London.

When you put on clothes that are fighting against something, you can feel your courage grow. Clothing can set you free.

The most successful achievers in sports are people that are really driven and have that spirit of hunger.