Indian paper is famous, Egyptian papyrus, Chinese paper... every country has used this natural material. But the problem is it's going to run out because it's very difficult work.
In the Eighties, Japanese fashion designers brought a new type of creativity; they brought something Europe didn't have. There was a bit of a shock effect, but it probably helped the Europeans wake up to a new value.
Design is a vital component to the enrichment of our everyday lives. Japan has a very rich history and culture of design, and I feel it is a very important dialogue to open and keep evolving.
Many people will say, well, clothes should be worn; but I think people can look at them in public, like seeing a film. I think museum exhibitions are very important.
I became a fashion designer to make clothes for the people, not to be a top couturier in the French tradition.
I gravitated towards the field of clothing design, partly because it is a creative format that is modern and optimistic.
If Mr. Obama could walk across the Peace Bridge in Hiroshima - whose balustrades were designed by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi as a reminder both of his ties to East and West and of what humans do to one another out of hatred - it would be both a real and a symbolic step toward creating a world that knows no fear of nuclear threat.
I am most interested in people and the human form.
In Paris, we call the people who make clothing 'couturiers' - they develop new clothing items - but actually, the work of designing is to make something that works in real life.
The joining of the Japanese with the French should make a new movement. I think it should be good for Paris.
My generation in Japan lived in limbo. We dreamed between two worlds.
By the way, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14.
I suppose there are many, but I cannot imagine ever having a more perfect collaboration than that which Penn-san and I shared. It was based upon mutual trust, respect, and a desire to have our own work pushed to new places. And it always resulted in delight.
There are no boundaries for what can be fabric.
A few of the influences on my career so far have been Isamu Noguchi, Irving Penn, and seeing the riots of 1968 in Paris.
I've never been involved in any kind of political movement.
I always wanted to create clothing that was universal - easy to wear, to care for, and that was also beautiful. As such, I became interested in polyester, and its potential, from the beginning of my career.
Polyester is easy to work with and results in clothing that is well suited to the needs of a modern lifestyle.
The purpose - where I start - is the idea of use. It is not recycling, it's reuse.
Frank Gehry not only understood my sense of fun and adventure but also reciprocated it and translated that feeling into his work.
