I've often said in interviews that one of my favourite things about the V&A is the enormous plaster fig leaf
that was created to hide David's modesty
or to preserve everybody else's modesty
and I think it was for the visit of Queen Alexandra
which surprised me as I always thought she was a bit racy but obviously not.
The most useful thing to any designer is actually just a good memory.
It's absolutely the best thing you could ever have
you see that in people like Karl Lagerfeld
you see that in architects like Gilbert Scott and Soames, Pugin, William Morris.
I think all of them had a real ability to hoover up loads of information and then sift it
and allow themselves to cherry pick bits that they like and use them to create their own thing.
My personal definition of good design is just that it looks absolutely drop dead gorgeous.
I'm not really that bothered about how well it works I have to say.
I suppose suits. I still maintain that men of our generation are absolutely mad, men in our society are mad.
The suit has evolved over two, three hundred, four hundred years to make men look as good as they possibly can look.
Why don't we wear them more often? I love wearing a suit, I'd wear a suit on the beach.
I do love lacquer. I love old lacquer and indeed
ok well there we go peacock lacquer and I'm probably in heaven.
I don't really believe in extravagance at all.
I don't believe in extravagance as something that should be remarked upon,
I think life should just be what you want it to be
and I think I like things to be by anyone else's definition extravagant.
I like design to be full fat and I like design to clog your arteries.
We're very bad at celebrating.
I think we're very bad at enjoying it.
We don't put designers on our bank notes,
we put engineers, we love our engineers.
Particularly at the moment I think design has been completely overtaken by engineering,
It's about mechano it's not about making things pretty,
it's not about rococo, it's not about baroque, it's about building it as an exo-skeleton.
I originally wanted to be a barrister and I still hanker after the wig,
in fact I wouldn't wear the wig that would be my thing, I'd just powder my hair.
Never wear brown shoes with a blue suit
which I think is probably the best advice you could give anyone.