Quotes from Donatella Versace

You couldn't define the '80s when the '80s were happening. We kept changing. We had shoulder pads, then we didn't. It was revealing, and then it was decoration. It was a lot of things at once. It was defined when it was over.

I do think that exercise is important, not only to keep you in shape but also for your state of mind. However, I am not fanatical about it.

I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. She would cut the first pattern, and then she had people working for her. So I grew up in an atelier, watching people all around me sewing. I was fascinated.

Fashion is about dreaming and making other people dream.

Showing your femininity should help your career and not go against your career. Dressing like a man, using the suit to look powerful - that was the '80s, and that didn't help women.

The suit does not represent the businessman anymore. Nor does the loud shirt represent the rock star. The same man can now wear both.

I'm a designer, and I work very hard at that. People sometimes want to put down fashion by saying it's frivolous or superficial, but it's not that way at all. It's actually very hard work.

When I meet celebrities, I have to know what they are like and only then can I design. The clothes have to fit their personality.

Some say the economy means that you have to persuade people to invest in clothes - to buy less things but more expensive things. I disagree - invest in jewelry, or a house, maybe, but not in fashion.

You can never forget the time you're living in because the past is the past and it will never come back. So to adjust your philosophy and creativity in fashion to the time you're living in is the most important thing.

I don't like my physique at all.

In my life I had no other choice than to become a strong person.

I find older men more attractive than boys. I need a man who can teach me a thing or two.

Elegance is always in style for men.

The three biggest fashion mistakes are cheap suits, shoes, and shirts. Spend your money on something good.

For me, music gives a voice to fashion.

I don't even know what my natural color is. Natural? What is natural? What is that? I do not believe in totally natural for women. For me, natural has something to do with vegetables

I go from a full working day to making sure I am home for dinner with my kids. I couldn't do that in a 10cm mini skirt but I am not going to resort to sweatpants and an old t-shirt.

The body should be reconfigured by the clothes, never again the other way round.

Fashion is a weapon that you can use when you need it.

I always wear high heels - I simply feel naked without them.

I don't see anybody categorized as a 'fashion diva,' except for me! And I like that. I am thought of as a diva because I wear an evening dress and I take care of my look when I go out. I go to parties regarding business, not for fun. And that's why they call me a 'diva.'

New York is full of creative people, not only in fashion.

I like to eat. Definitely. I love sitting around a table with my friends. But I don't know how to cook anything.