Quotes from Rei Kawakubo

The corporateness of the fashion industry tends to take away or distort the freedom of creation.

If I do something I think is new, it will be misunderstood, but if people like it, I will be disappointed because I haven't pushed them enough. The more people hate it, maybe the newer it is. Because the fundamental human problem is that people are afraid of change.

I don't like to explain the clothes, how I made them, the theme, et cetera. It's because the clothes are just as you see them and feel them. That's what I want... just see and feel them.

According to research,when given a choice, babies choose gold. It's my favourite colour after black and red.

The monsters I thought about are those that don't fit in - those who think differently from the majority, the people of exception, outsiders. I wish that society would place more importance and value on these kinds of monsters.

I can understand how some women want to marry a rich man. They may be happy for the rest of their lives, but they will never be free.

What's interesting about collaborations is the possibility for one plus one to equal three.

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

What you wear can largely govern your feelings and your emotions, and how you look influences the way people regard you. So fashion plays an important role on both the practical level and the aesthetic level.

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

I always had good reactions from people with a good eye and a vision... and very terrible reactions from those who are afraid of people who are different to others - at the beginning and even now. I have never worried about it too much.

If you have total freedom to design, you won't get anything interesting. So I give myself restraints in order to kind of push myself through, to create something new. It's the torture that I give myself, the pain and the struggle that I go through.

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

I am not aware I am an icon.

This idea of collaborating with designers - that's something I can identify with.

The Dover Street Markets bring brands of all disciplines together to sell their products in an open atmosphere that, most importantly, incites creativity. They are, along with the 'Comme des Garcons' stores, usually located in areas off the beaten track.

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

I've always said that, growing up in postwar Japan, I never felt any connection to my work through those experiences. The work I do really comes from inside myself. For me, being born in Japan was an accident.

I'm not very happy to be classified as another Japanese designer. There is no one characteristic that all Japanese designers have.

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

I would have liked to invent the plain white shirt, with a skirt and pants to go with it.

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."

It's interesting for me to sell Comme des Garcons in places it's never been sold before to people who might not have heard of Comme des Garcons.

I'm always looking to make something that didn't exist before, fumbling about in the dark, not just while making a collection. The search for something new is a constant in my everyday life. But constantly searching for something new is like looking for a well in a desert.