Marc Jacobs quotes: fashion mogul discusses individuality, luxury, beauty, change, his surreal success, and more.
“Let’s do what we love and do a lot of it.”
“What’s worked for me is not quitting and being passionate about what I do and not giving up – and when I don’t believe in myself, turning to others who believe in me.”
“Life is a fashion show, the world is your runway.”
“Innovation is an evolutionary process, so it’s not necessary to be radical all the time.”
“Creativity in any form stimulates creativity in every form: music, arts, literature. I find inspiration in anything. It’s all the same.”
“Living in the past or living in the future – those aren’t real. The moment is now, and that’s where safety and comfort and all that good stuff is.”
“You can never please everyone, and I think it’s best not to.”
“Change is a great and horrible thing, and people love it or hate it at the same time. Without change, however, you just don’t move.”
“Even mistakes can get you one step further.”
“Part of the talent of any company is to surround yourself with people who have good spirit and help you do more and more things.”
“I like people who have a sense of individuality. I love expression and anything awkward and imperfect, because that’s natural and that’s real.”
“It’s the things that aren’t accepted as conventionally beautiful that I find more attractive.”
“I don’t need to be better than anybody or worse than anybody to feel better about myself. I just need to stick on my own path and stay in the moment as best I can.”
“I’d like to be invisible. To be anonymous and see things for what they really are. The truth may be painful but it’s probably useful!”
“To me, clothing is a form of self-expression. There are hints about who you are in what you wear.”
“Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them.”
“I always find beauty in things that are odd and imperfect – they are much more interesting.”
“One thing that is exciting about fashion is the surprise element. People don’t know what they want. They just know when they see it.”
“I love to take things that are everyday and comforting and make them into the most luxurious things in the world.”
“Fashion isn’t a necessity. It pulls at your heart. It’s a whim. You don’t need it. You want it.”
“The ultimate customer is stylish, not fashionable. To be fashionable, all you need is money.”
“We don’t need fashion to survive, we just desire it so much.”
“But the customer is the final, final filter. What survives the whole process is what people wear.”
“I’m a designer. I make clothes and bags and shoes. I have a job that involves making creative choices, but I’m not a divinely inspired human being like an artist!”
“I like to make things. I like making choices, choosing colors, evoking a spirit, a change.”
“It’s sometimes said that I’m rebellious and I do things to push people’s buttons, but I just like the challenge.”
“My grandmother was amazing. She completely believed in me and was very encouraging. She would go to the supermarket or the butcher or wherever and tell people, ‘My grandson is going to be the next Calvin Klein.'”
“For so many years, I felt so insecure, so inferior, and I still have those moments, but I have a newfound confidence since I got in shape and changed my diet.”
“Awkwardness gives me great comfort. I’ve never been cool, but I’ve felt cool. I’ve been in the cool place, but I wasn’t really cool – I was trying to pass for hip or cool. It’s the awkwardness that’s nice.”
“To be useful to others and to be useful to myself is definitely a better place to be.”
“Sometimes, you just have to clear your head and get out to see other things. It is very important to be nourished. I love to go to museums and galleries, I like to see theater, film, dance – anything creative. It doesn’t promise you inspiration, but it nourishes your creative soul, and that’s good.”
“I think there is something about luxury – it’s not something people need, but it’s what they want. It really pulls at their heart.”
“Luxury is anything you don’t need, right? I mean, you need food, water, clothing, shelter… but good wine, good food, beautiful interiors, nice clothes; those aren’t necessities, they are luxuries – it’s all luxury.”
“I’m someone who came to Paris as a teenager, and I dreamed of coming back to Paris as a visitor. I never dreamed of having a job at the biggest luxury house in Paris and, you know, 15 odd years later, I’m still here.”
“I’m not really well educated – other than an art survey course at the High School of Art and Design in New York when I was, like, 15. I don’t know the history of art, but I got over intimidation from the art world when I realized that I was allowed to feel whatever I want and like whatever I want.”
“The attention toward me is basically because of what we’ve built as a company. If we built a pile of crap then nobody would care what I ate for lunch.”
“I have the word ‘Shameless’ tattooed on my chest. I want to be as honest as I possibly can. I sleep better at night.”
“I love my life. I can’t believe I work in New York and Paris. That I work for Louis Vuitton. That I work for Marc Jacobs. It seems really weird every time I say my full name – like, that’s me, and every time I hear the receptionist say my name, it’s still weird.”
“I am really glad to be working at the profession that I love.”
“I always wanted to be a fashion designer so I just have to remember that as long as I’m doing it, I’m living the dream.”
“I guess it was obvious from the start. All the other kids wanted toys for Christmas; I was the only one happy with a sweater.”
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