Jil Sander quotes:

I feel that things happen for a reason and open up new opportunities.

We look our best in subdued colors, sophisticated cuts, and a general air of sleek understatement.

Life is full of challenges and surprises.

I feel very strongly that clothes that fit well make a person feel better. It's maybe half the value of the merchandise.

Initially, it was the unpractical in fashion that brought me to design my own line. I felt that it was much more attractive to cut clothes with respect for the living, three-dimensional body rather than to cover the body with decorative ideas.

The '90s were extremely diverse, almost like a laboratory of the new century. There was much experimenting around, in politics, economics, gender and family structures, and also in fashion. There was a cloud of possibilities which kept us all dizzy.

If I had the power, I would ban leggings.

The apparent pointlessness of fashion may be just what makes it so strong as a zeitgeist sensor. Even I, a designer, do not know why a certain proportion feels dated or why another one feels exciting at a given moment. I leave that to the cultural historians and theorists.

It may sound ambitious, but I really hope that modern design will spread all around the globe.

The market is like a language, and you have to be able to understand what they're saying.

If you cut a painter's hands off, he'd still feel the urge to pick up a brush.

I think there is always a need for pure design. With pure design, you don't need so much decoration.

I sometimes feel that a pattern is almost a fashion statement in itself.

One glass of water doesn't equal another. One may just appease the thirst, the other you may enjoy thoroughly. In Japan, people know about this difference.

Even as a child, I told my whole family how to improve their looks.

I have a lot of fantasy.

I try as much as possible to give you a great basic product and what comes out, I feel, is really amazing.

I am convinced that there can be luxury in simplicity.

I'm not a gambler.

It is not easy to dress well.

My approach has always been rather sensual.

I like femininity, not of the devout, but of the self-assured, cool and sophisticated kind.

In the end, you can' t talk to everyone.

I am convinced that you don't need to spend a fortune to look like a million.