Olivier Theyskens (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɔlɪviər ˈtɛiskəns]) is a fashion designer who has worked with major design houses, including Rochas, Nina Ricci and Theory.
I am more used to seeing my work like a big collection, and only part of it is being shown.
My sense of designing is a mix of intuition and intellectual control.
We always see the point of an iceberg. So I've always accepted the idea that people - they don't necessarily know everything I am.
I didn't understand the advantages of staying active until I was about 27.
In fashion, we don't often know the prices. We don't have time to go into the stores.
I don't like to go beyond modernity because you think girls might be like that in five years, but in five years what I see now is going to be old; we are always going to go somewhere else. You have to bring a few novelties within what will remain.
I think the relationship is very tenuous between fashion and art. Many designers have built relationships with artists, which is not something I personally did. But it's true, sometimes you see artists working for a designer or a brand on some specific project or taking care of their environment and making an amazing store.
When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.
When Princess Diana got married, I was a very little kid, I think. I remember her dress, and I found the dress amazing when I was a kid.
I've admired historical clothes like Victorian gowns since I was a child, and it's what motivated me to go into fashion.
When I was young, watching historical movies made me feel absolutely sublime. But the first few times I visited costume museums, I was really disappointed because it was not at the level I saw in movies. It was not the level of the image I'd imagined.
The aim of being a good designer is to have an influence. If you design furniture or lifestyle, you should influence the way people evolve globally. It's good to have an influence.
People who don't know me sometimes call me 'Mademoiselle. '
I could live naked. . . I love it.
I don't think couture will die. But it should have no pretension that it will conquer the world. It's not something that will disappear because all you need is a thread and a needle to start making something couture.
The aim of being a good designer is to have an influence. If you design furniture or lifestyle, you should influence the way people evolve globally. It's good to have an influence. I feel like people on the street today probably dress better than they did in the '50s.
I love to be in New York. And I think anybody who's a designer, who says they're doing an urban collection, thinks about the streets of New York. I cannot do an urban collection thinking of Bangkok. Or Mexico. To me, it's totally instant, totally connected with what attracts me these days. But this resurgence of a modern, cool way of being dressed is something that stimulates me and is totally right for me. Even now I don't like to show something that is some futuristic utopia.
I haven't made many wedding dresses. It's a dress very, very important for the girl; it's important to know the person, I believe, but at the same time it should be a shock to the person - the person should be shocked to be suddenly revealed. That's the work of a designer sometimes, to propose an ID of look.
I am interested in the idea of 'taste. ' And by 'taste,' I mean opinion, inspiration and the craft of creating a personality through fabric and design.
Everything I have is ready to wear, but I have the ability to have different options within the same brand. I have the Theyskens' Theory collection where it's a personal approach to how I build the collection where I fuse more fashion-y ideas and it has my name on it. So it's really something very research- and labor-intensive. And then I have the Theory brand where I infuse all points of view about fashion at large, and it's more global. It's really about making something succeed. You have an instant relationship with stores, and with sales teams, and people that are in the place.