Design and style should work toward making you look good and feel good without a lot of effort so you can get on with the things that matter. I like the body. I like to design everything to do with the body. I never like to think that I design for a particular person. I design for the woman I wanted to be, the woman I used to be, and – to some degree – the woman I’m still a little piece of. Don’t dress to kill, dress to survive. Every day I’m thinking about change.

An evening dress that reveals a woman’s ankles while walking is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. You can hide so much behind theatrics, and I don’t need to do that any more. Insecurity is a waste of time. I remember walking the dog one day, I saw a car full of teenage girls, and one of them rolled down the window and yelled, ‘Marc Jacobs!’ in a French accent.

Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.

Fashion can be this mysterious thing that you can’t explain. I want to thank all the women who have worn my clothes, the famous and the unknown, who have been so faithful to me and given me so much joy. Fashion is made to become unfashionable. I’ve always tried to push myself technically and to push myself visually. That’s been part of the journey. We look our best in subdued colors, sophisticated cuts, and a general air of sleek understatement.

I am convinced that there can be luxury in simplicity. I am not interested in the past, except as the road to the future. Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury. Even Michelangelo got paid for doing the Sistine Chapel. To those artists who say they’re doing it for the love of art, I say: Get real. I didn’t want to be a fashion designer, and for a good half of my career I didn’t like it. I always wanted to do other things.

What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contacts go so fast. Fashion is instant language. Fashion fosters cliches of beauty, but I want to tear them apart. Comfort is very important to me. I think people live better in big houses and in big clothes. Insecurity is a waste of time. You’re only as good as your last collection, which is an enormous pressure.