Quotes from Antoine Arnault

I love Aston Martin.

Designers are not artists. They may have the talent of one, but if they want to work in that way they should paint or sculpt.

I'm a visual person, a conceptual person.

Of course I have other passions... but my real investment obviously without a second thought is LVMH and what my father created.

I'm not the biggest fan of airports. I try to arrive a few minutes before check-in closes.

It's not a burden, you know? You're going to work in fashion, surrounded by creativity and beautiful people, beautiful objects... or work in banking. OK, I choose fashion.

What we sell are not products... that customers are going to put in a closet and forget.

I like to respect my customers.

My father has many talents, but his best is marketing.

Growing up, I'd always visit boutiques with my father on the weekends.

The west coast of Corsica on a boat in August is probably as beautiful as it gets.

We have received a heritage of craftsmanship, of aesthetics, of taste, of identity. Our brands have the beauty to preserve and perpetuate it.

A pair of Berluti shoes has this flair, these nuances in colour and patina, so I thought: 'What if we took this je ne sais quoi and turn it into a menswear brand?'

If I see one of my sales assistants neglecting someone because he doesn't look like a good client, he's fired immediately.

Being surrounded by creativity and talent is very enriching - not in terms of money but in terms of the soul and the spirit.

We were raised with real values about the importance of work and respect for the people.

The luxury industry is being radically reshaped by technology-driven innovation.

I never conduct business on the golf course.

Berluti, we manufacture wonderfully successful sneakers, which I'm proud of. But I certainly don't forget the beauty we have to cultivate, the prestige of Venezia leather bespoke shoes, because this is a unique know-how that does not exist anywhere else.

I had a couple of years of rebellion - I was singing in a rock band.

In many competitive worlds like luxury, things are done behind closed doors and with secrecy, so one day I had a eureka moment: for one weekend we show everything, full transparency, forget about business or commerce and showcase our work.

It takes eight to nine months for a Berluti client to get a pair of custom-made shoes and it's fine. I was always against see now/buy now, as I don't think it's relevant to what we do and is not a good image of luxury.

In an era of instant communication, a flaw or non-perfect product creates immediate bad buzz.

I think buying shoes is intimidating for a guy. Sitting down taking your shoes off, for men, it's too much. But you should never be intimidated by anything.