Cynthia Rowley
Be thankful for all successes, lose your ego, take risks, fail fast, and if you don't absolutely love what you do, run!Collection: Thankful
Art has definitely influenced how I think of design, both as individual items and as a body of work.Collection: Design
I try to look at design from a more conceptual standpoint.Collection: Design
I've taken a lot of risks through the years, but I always followed my instincts and always explored new opportunities. The biggest reward has been having an idea and being able to make it a reality. My passions always lead the way - travel and adventure, fitness, art, and home.Collection: Fitness
Everything looks cute when it's small.
That's my style - to mix a lot of print and pattern and put it all together.
I wake up like I'm shot out of a cannon.
I think for love to work you have to be with someone who you want to talk to before going to bed at night.
I'm very sensitive to smells.
It seems like the world's major cities are getting more and more homogenized, so I think it's important to go off-road and find treasures in offbeat destinations.
Overhearing people's conversations about art - that's always entertaining.
I really detest brunch. I think it's a waste of a good day. Detest is a little too severe, but I would say I'm not a brunch person.
I think cooking has the same creative process as designing, where you have the ingredients, you have the alchemy part of it, and you have the satisfaction of seeing your creation become a reality.
I've always wanted to do something in the food and beverage world. Part of my MO is to go into unchartered territory. I enjoy a challenge.
I love the idea that you would wear vintage stuff with new stuff and wear stuff that's 5 years old.
We work with Birchbox, and I think that it's kind of exciting. You're getting a gift every month, and it also entices people to be more experimental and to try more things. For busy people like myself, it's really helpful.
I always like that sort of tomboy aesthetic.
I think that each season we, as an industry, evolve more and more in such a great way, and I'm really excited about it. We're able to put fashion into the hands of the consumer and eyes of the consumer, and I just think that there's no filter anymore; you just put it out there. There's an instant commentary. I think it's so interesting.
My dream was to have a slide bannister so I could slide down and go out the door to work.
I've been lucky enough to meet a lot of fantastic people, from royalty to rock stars. I've also been known to be a bit of a daredevil, so I've tried to explore extreme travel and adventure - scuba-diving in an arctic glacier and camping in the Himalayas.
All I ever wanted to do was make things. My whole life has been a constant evolution on that theme.
When I was in art school, I worried that being a painter seemed like it could be an elusive dream, and fashion seemed so much more secure.
People always ask what my inspiration is, and it's never something that's easily explained.
I think it's important to stay curious and see and experience as much as you can, whether it's art, performance, music, travel, or just hanging out and people-watching.
Doing things outside of the traditional fashion gives me the opportunity to bring a fresh eye to unexpected markets.
I love hanging out with kids and my husband - I love traveling with them. We can go on the most epic journeys in like five days.
I think it's important to incorporate everything into all parts of your life. I don't separate all the things - during the day, I talk to my kids; they come and visit. On weekends, we go crazy and do lots of activities. I'm just not good at relaxing.
I always think clothing is like a scrapbook: you remember all the good memories and the past times.
There's always an excuse to celebrate someone you love.
I've got a theory: if you love your workspace, you'll love your work a little more.Collection: Love You
Regarding wetsuits, I always liked the Marilyn Minter quote, 'Everything's better when wet,' injecting some style into sports utility.Collection: Sports
You have to [go outside your comfort zone]. Andy Warhol said 'say yes to everything'.Collection: Comfort
The whole point is that colors that are harder to wear, like pink, less expected, or maybe not as commercial; if they're used in the right way, they can make a design way more compelling, especially in menswear where color isn't often used. I think it's really exciting to have a lot of color in men's stuff.Collection: Thinking
Fashion went from being much more rarefied to being more accessible. Now everything is changing in the art world, too: even the highest level of institutions are becoming more aware of the general public, like the McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan or the Tim Burton at the MoMA or how the Gagosian does historic Picasso shows, bringing museum quality into a gallery. Galleries are becoming more like museums, and museums are becoming more accessible. In the next decade, I think it'll be blown open: there will be a lot of shifting around in terms of how artists approach their work.Collection: Fashion