Daphne Guinness
Fashion is not just about trends. It's about political history. You can trace it from the ancient Romans to probably until the '80s, and you can see defining moments that were due either to revolutions or changes in politics.Collection: Politics
I think life is about having the mixture of the curiosity of an older person and the imagination of a child.Collection: Imagination
Life is full of banana skins. You slip, you carry on.
It's quite nice to have a place to leave things. You can be a permanent gypsy, but it's nice to go home.
I practice stoic philosophy. As a human being, you may have emotions, but these don't need to affect your soul. The two are not one.
Fragrance takes you on a journey of time. You can walk down the street and pass someone and get taken back 20 years. It's very Proustian that way.
My style is difficult to contain in a sentence; it's ever evolving. Generally I'm drawn to clean cuts and avoid patterns. I tend to choose structure and block colors, but these are all just loose guidelines.
Love is agony, isn't it? I've been involved with someone for some time now, but it's all so complicated. It's never straightforward is it? You meet someone, you fall in love, it's the most wonderful thing ever but... There's always something that's not quite right about love, isn't there?
I can't understand it when people are closed-minded. I mean, boy, have I made mistakes and been very wrong. I can't tell you the amounts of times I've been let down, but I still try to see the best in people.
Normally, you should be dead if you have a retrospective.
I spend a lot of time upside down. It increases the blood flow to the brain, so it really helps your creativity.
I'm normally late, so I just kind of throw on the sort of thing that's at hand. And then I'll go through phases of wearing the same thing again and again and again - and my wardrobe is mainly about black and white, so it goes together. I'll play with certain elements, but I don't really think about it too much.
I've always been more slight, and I've always sort of felt that I needed to be protected, especially with so many rowdy brothers and sisters.
I don't tell anybody else what to wear. I would never dream of it.
I've been really upset sometimes when I've been misquoted. And it's the one thing they use in big print. Or it's taken out of context. Thoughts are fluid and words are sticky. That's the thing.
I never read gossip press. I just read books. And I never switch on the TV anymore.
We need a government, not politics. Because there's too much politics. Of course there should be debate. But there seems to be so much pettiness and not enough good faith. It is civilized to agree to disagree, and this idea is slowly disintegrating. The great statesmen of the past knew this, and I think it helps drive civilization.
I don't approach fashion; fashion approaches me!
I treat clothing or a piece of jewelry like it was a piece of art, even though people who collect clothes get a bad rap because they're told it's all vanity.
I really don't understand the idea of a celebrity stylist. Is it a real job? I know there's unemployment, but frankly the railways need to be fixed, too.
People always assume I don't need to work for money, but my divorce settlement was not as much as it's always reported to be.
I just am who I am. And then when people label me eccentric or different, I'm kind of astonished because I think, 'This is completely normal. This is just how I am, it's how I've always been.'
If I eat, I can't work. I'll eat when I'm dead.
In fashion, there are so many gangs, if you identify too much with one, you get caught - I would lose my freedom.
Time is infinite, but we are not infinite in it.
I have a four-and-a-half-, nearly five-octave range. I probably should have had extra lessons as a child, as I am certain my family heard my potential, but I didn't. I was in the choir as a schoolgirl, but really, it is all self-taught.
Holding a note is a very difficult thing - you have to use your whole body to achieve a perfect pitch.
Memories are like mercury. Every time you sort of try to get near them, they slip out of your hand like a bar of soap.
Seasons are really annoying. You get a really great pair of shoes or a beautiful pair of boots, and then you try to get them again four months later, and they say, 'Oh no, that was last season.'
Sunglasses are great, but I always feel a bit pretentious wearing sunglasses. I mean, I do love to wear them.
A marriage is a solemn affair. The tempest of emotions and the myriad of arrangements are giddying, and when one is faced with these, clothing seems to be the last of one's priorities.
I'd quite like to have one place where I stay put. And I don't like living in cities all the time. In order to have ideas, you have to have some peace and quiet.
Nothing terrifies me more than being social.
I hate the idea of making any of my children into a mini-me. That would be terrible.
If you go into a relationship when you're 16, you've got no baggage.
Human beings all mimic each other.
I play piano and I sing. But I do that for fun. I mean, I do everything for fun.
Everyone wants to get behind the red rope, but actually: be yourself, don't believe what you see, don't believe all this marketing.
Switch off reality TV! I've only ever been able watch about 30 seconds of it.
Writing is a funny thing. It's not like you're working on a schedule. It comes in fits and starts.
From 1989 to 2000, I was focusing in on my children. I hadn't realized the world had changed a lot. AIDS had happened, for starters, and so many people in the arts died or were affected.
There are a lot of people who do a lot of things to be outrageous with fashion, hair or makeup.
I don't like to look at myself in the mirror, which is why my eye makeup is always crooked.
My life has always somehow been played out in a minor key, unresolved. Art somehow resolves things for me.
Through art, you create your own world.
Oh, I love tea. I have to take tea bags wherever I go.
There hasn't been anything real since grunge. That was the last movement led by music or an art form.
You can tell the state of civilization by the way people dress. If the people who fought two World Wars came back to 2010 and saw all of us running around in tracksuits, what would they think? It is just about being sloppy.
Fantasy appeals to me and can be very much reflected in my dress - but then, each day is different. Not every day is a magical day.
I think it's beautiful to be able to cover yourself in metal. I love the color and the way it reflects. But it is also a protection.