Quotes from Riccardo Tisci

I come from a very poor family, with sisters. I never really knew my father, so I miss this strong image of a man in my life.

I didn't invent hot water. But when I approach menswear, I do it in a very honest way. And my menswear and womenswear are very similar, in the sense that I put men in leggings and lace shirts.

Most little children's obsessions are robots and Barbie dolls. My obsession as a kid was the Versace house. I used to save up my pocket money to buy Versus shirts. I was that obsessed!

At the beginning, I didn't see what Givenchy could give my career. It was like, "Okay, I'll do it for the money for a few years to help my mom and my sisters."

I love art and music more than I love fashion, to be honest.

I think my heart is in a very good place. And I think this is why I'm achieving what I've been asking to do in the universe for so long.

I had only two girlfriends. I didn't have many friends because I was staying at home and dreaming - drawing and dreaming.

Seduction is about intelligence and wit. Someone who makes me laugh has every chance to seduce me.

Religion and love don't have a price, don't have a gender, a skin color, nothing. We are all on the same plate.

In spite of the fact that everyone thinks I am very much a rottweiler - that i am very dark and everything - I have a side that is very romantic that i show to very few people.

My life has changed financially and I have a name, but I try to never forget people on my journey.

I've always been obsessed with things that are half animal and half human - like mermaids and Minotaurs - because they are trapped in an animal body. And I felt trapped in my own life.

People's wardrobes in history are something that society and culture imposed. But sexuality is not about the way you dress.

I always think about the streets because that's where I come from and that's where I'm going to die one day. That is my life.

I'm very well off but I can stay with normal people. I can do a super-luxury life, but I can do a very normal life and I'm not scared.

When I was 12, I used to dress as a woman in the house. At the time, cross-dressing was a big taboo in Italy. It was better to have a son who was a drug addict than a cross-dresser.

I am super-Italian, not even European - Italian. And this is very precise. It's like houses. Over time they stabilize themselves in the terrain. I am still at the first step of a long staircase.

For me, fashion is a job. I love it. It's my passion. But the most important thing for me in general is life.

I love finding new things. I love the conceptual aspect of Antony Hegarty or the voices of those back in the day like Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Ciara. I love what evokes emotion in me.

I am close friends with Marina Abamovich, so I love strong, very aggressive political art. She is like a mom who wants to adopt me.

Couture is emotion. Couture is freedom. Couture is not thinking about pricing and not thinking about craziness. You can do whatever you want to do in couture.

The couture client wants the latest things, but she wants the clothes to be super-special - the fabrics won't even touch or go near anything like prêt-à-porter.

There are some people whom I esteem and want their opinion first, but that's my way. It is difficult for me to delegate. In the end, I do have two or three people on my team who I listen to.

I've got what I want, and I've got the luck to express myself and to be paid and to do what I do as a creative person.