Top 44 John Rocha Quotes

Just because something is trendy doesn’t mean it will suit you.

It might be a selfish choice, but I find it quite difficult to design for individuals and prefer the distance of larger schemes. It’s the same reason why, as a designer, I don’t do wedding dresses.

I want to challenge myself in new mediums; I want to leave myself open to different things.

I will never see myself as a businessman. I’m a designer. I have to be true to what I believe.

The day I feel my clothes are no longer relevant, I will be happy to step down.

My Chinese grandmother was a dressmaker, so I always enjoyed dressing up and looking cool.

Dubai is a vibrant city: Big cars, big buildings… it reminds me of my home town, Hong Kong. People are always on the move here, and there’s a lot going on. There are some wonderful architecture and some not-so-wonderful.

It was a very, very happy childhood, but I always knew I wanted to see the world.

I can tell you every element of every single look from each collection – one to 30 – without looking at a picture: my label is all done by me.

I believe that IT is the way forward. Every other industry utilises IT, and I feel that fashion needs to use it more extensively to move forward.

I dress pop stars, and I dress my doctor. It’s about attitude. I do what I love, and I’m lucky to do it. It’s a long way from Hong Kong.

Design has always been at the heart of our business.

As I get older and older, people like my work more and more.

Fabric is the foundation of a collection.

Chinese people have that superstitious fix – people always do feng shui when they are opening a shop; even the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank pays people to do feng shui for them.

When I was young, we always went to our posh cousins at Christmas. My dad made sure we had new shoes and clean clothes – he was really proud – and that’s why I felt different from everyone living around me. We had the first television on the estate, the first fridge.

I am trained as a fashion designer and do not claim to be an expert architect or anything like that. I won’t do something unless I know I can do it.

My family was quite poor, and the NHS was recruiting people from abroad to do psychiatric nursing. It was the only hope I had to leave Hong Kong.

As you get older, your skin tone will change, and that means the colours that suit you best change, too. Take a trip to a department store and ask for advice, or simply hold colours close to your face in the mirror, as this should give you a good idea of what works.

I always challenge myself to do something better, and people in the industry appreciate that.

I never set out to do interior design; I just do what I do, and some people come along and want me to work with them.

Guys want to be cool without appearing to be bothered about trends.

Fashion is instant – after six months, it disappears, and you have to start again. That’s the nature of it.

Fashion is like a four-legged table: you need a good designer, a very good business manager, a good manufacturer, and a very good distributor. Without all the legs, table collapses.

Men like clothes they can wear to work and afterwards. They don’t want things to be complicated.

I went from fashion to glass in 1995, and I’m very interested in architecture.

I love fashion, but fashion is not my whole life.

To create a beautiful thing with unlimited money is easy!

I made my final collection in college in London using Irish handwoven wool. That is how I discovered Ireland first; I just fell in love with it, really.

Fashion remains closest to my heart. I get genuinely excited by my collections – I never wanted to be a businessman.

I like to create a simple space and surround myself with things that I like to look at.

I’m a British designer, and it’s great to show on your own ground.

At primary school, we would pick up plastic petals on the way home to make flowers. Now you might call it child labour, but we did it for pocket money.

I used to play football, and then my wife bought me a fishing rod.

A woman can look incredibly sexy in a black suit.

I think, as a designer, what you have to do is challenge yourself to do what you do, but better.

As a heterosexual designer, it is really, really important to have a woman’s point of view.

Talent always shouts at you.

I think natural fibers look better over time. The more you wear them, they look even better.

My dream home would be a fishing lodge in New Zealand.

I always have a cigar when I catch a fish.

I love my black shirts; I have usually 14 of them at any one time.

I don’t want to be an elitist designer. It’s no fun just catering for a small group of people. It’s against my principles.

Beautiful fabrics last; synthetics don’t. Certain fabrics, such as linen or cotton, develop their own character over time.