“You have to bring it back to the house where you are working. We never look at fashion references. It’s always very much creating a world through a story. It’s always very much: ‘What would McQueen do?”

Sarah Burton, Creative Director of Alexander McQueen, explains the craftsmanship, mathematics and underwater inspiration for the McQueen woman in Spring/Summer 2012 to New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn for NOWNESS.

Raf Simons photographed by Willy Vanderperre | Source: Fantastic Man

“What I’ve learned about working with a big company like Jil Sander is how important the structure is. You can have ideas and you can have money, but if the structure isn’t right, if everybody at design and management and marketing and sales isn’t in the same key, it’s not going to work.”

Raf Simons speaking to Gert Jonkers, editor of Fantastic Man, for Issue No. 14, Autumn and Winter 2011

“Perfectionism is almost an illness with me, but sometimes I have moments where everything is absolutely clear and you can feel, rather than think.”

Tom Ford, speaking in Visionaries, a new documentary which airs on the Oprah Winfrey Channel on 23 October, 2011

Tobey Maguire for Prada | Source: Prada

“Could the timing of Prada’s HK IPO be any worse? Asian markets had a torrid day on Thursday, with the Hang Seng among the biggest fallers. Meanwhile debt worries in Greece appear to be deepening, hitting global sentiment. And then there’s Samsonite – which debuted on the market amid much fanfare, only to utterly flop on day one, closing down over 8 per cent.”

The Financial Times Josh Noble, commenting on the upcoming (and long-awaited) IPO of Prada which has been scuppered by international economic turmoil several times in the past.

“I feel like they’re adding a real dose of freshness and reality to the fashion world online.”

Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast, amongst several other bloggers, speaking to Net-a-Porter TV as part of Net-a-Porter’s special bloggers issue, which includes their first ever Blog Power List, ranking Tommy Ton at Number 1, Susie Bubble at Number 5, and The Business of Fashion at Number 7.