Nicola Formichetti

I like places where you can dance to crazy music, like Bedlam or Eastern Bloc in the East Village.

I'm saving up to buy art. Nothing famous, but every time I'm in a new city I wander into galleries and dream about buying great pieces one day.

I'm not a typical couturier, although I really respect them.

Thierry Mugler is about the power of glamour and walking straight into the future. He's been a god for successive generations in the fashion industry. He fused pop and high fashion, told a story in style and combined fantasy with reality.

Working in a store and being a shop assistant, if you don't know what to do and you like fashion, I think it's a great way of getting into the business because you do windows, cleaning, and everything. That was my school for two years, working in a shop, and that's how I met people in magazines and designers.

I never wanted to work with celebrities. I have no interest. I don't really care about their egos and their publicists.

I want young people to be able to buy into what I design. When I was young, I wanted to buy designer brands even if all I could afford was the cheapest wallet, the cheapest pen, the cheapest T-shirt because I wanted to be a part of it.

I think old people should just be old and go away.

I'm not a designer, I'm a creator.

I love meeting people, and I know it's so difficult for people to come up to me and introduce themselves, so when they do, I'll grab them and hug them. It makes their day, you know? I love that, and I get positive energy from that.

I am terrible at making food. I love eating, but I can't make anything.

Actually, I never liked the idea of bags. I would say, 'Why do so many of my friends spend so much money on these bloody bags?' But once I started designing them, I was completely hooked. There are all of these blogs about bags. It's a whole other industry, and I'm really excited to be a part of it.

Japan, for me, will always be my inspiration source.

When I first moved to London for university, I was already a big fan of Diesel because, in the nineties, Diesel was, like, the brand. The stores were the place to go. It wasn't workwear like Levi's or G-Star.

My mom was my muse - she would buy me Italian 'Vogue.' I was this little fashion boy.

Fashion is such an insider's club, but slowly, the playing field is evening out. Through social media, everyone can have a front-row seat.

I'm half-Japanese, so I collect toys, like a Yayoi Kusama stuffed pumpkin.

It's so important as a creative person to go out and look for things. Go to galleries, talk to people, read books. Yes, you can just type something into Google, but if you read and interact, you'll have a deeper understanding of the world.

My uniform is usually just comfortable clothing. Being a stylist, you spend most of the day at photo shoots covered in safety pins.

I think when you start talking about money, it stops the whole creative process for me.

My muse is the digital world.

Style has replaced elegance. Before, I believed that style is something a person embodied. But now it's so easy to buy good style if you have the money.

I live between Europe, America and Asia.

Social networking inspires me a lot and how we are related and connected to each other.

I was born in Japan, so for me, Uniqlo is a family brand. My granny used to wear Uniqlo. And my Italian dad wore Uniqlo. I wore Uniqlo, of course.