Riccardo Quotes & Sayings

Nobility of spirit has more to do with simplicity than ostentation, wisdom rather than wealth, commitment rather than ambition. — Riccardo Muti

The conductor's stand is not a continent of power, but rather an island of solitude. — Riccardo Muti

A conductor should guide rather than command. — Riccardo Muti

I discovered the slip dress, which I think is one of the more French things because when you take off your clothes, even when to go into a shop to buy something, or you're going to Riccardo Tisci to try on a suit, it's like having protection. — Carine Roitfeld

Even though I had a fantastic family, I always felt lonely - not lonely in the melancholic way but knowing that, to really survive, I have to do everything for myself. I had to work and study, and I was out in the street really surviving, bringing food back home. — Riccardo Tisci

My mom always said to us, "You cannot judge anybody because of the color of skin." There were a lot of African immigrants in Italy at the time, and people would not even say hi in the street. And my mom, she would invite these people to the house. This is what I got from my mom: to not judge people because of their sexuality, their skin color, their religion, nothing. — Riccardo Tisci

I can give a beautiful present, and that may change the lives of people around me. — Riccardo Tisci

My obsession when I was kid, from '85 into the '90s, was Gianni Versace. It was Helmut Lang. It was Margiela. So I said, "I cannot have Givenchy only as a luxury house; I'm going to introduce products for everybody, things that are reachable." — Riccardo Tisci

Nothing is going to happen unless you work with your life's blood. — Riccardo Giacconi

I was the last one of nine kids - eight girls and me last - and my sisters were going out. They were teenagers. And as they were getting ready, I would sit on the bathtub and watch them put on makeup and transform themselves - you know, putting on clothes and giggling about the boys they were going to meet and everything. So for me, that was an amazing thing - the fact of transforming themselves. — Riccardo Tisci

Aboard the gondola, Giacomo Foscarini sat facing Mathias. They were crossing the Canal Grande, then they would navigate around San Marco and return. Foscarini loved to travel around Venice this way. They stopped briefly at a mooring near the bridge to the Rialto, and Foscarini had a servant fetch green olives, fresh Piacenza cheese, a few sausages from Modena, and wine that had just been delivered from Crete. The nobleman often dined aboard his gondola, looking out over the city, watching his world. "Seen from this vantage point, Venice doesn't seem like it's in any of its terrible troubles at all magister," said Foscarini. — Riccardo Bruni

But that day it was raining, and since they couldn't very well sit on the rooftop in the rain to watch the flotilla parade, they stayed in the little room that led to the roof. It had just one tiny window through which the gray light of day filtered in. They sat on the floor, and Lorenzo's senses were aroused by the sound of the rain falling outside, the musky smell of his own body, and the fragrant scent of Caterina's hair. A single blonde strand wound down her slim neck.

They kissed, taking off their rain-washed summer clothes so that their bodies pressed, naked, against one another. Long, delicate lovemaking. Caresses, kisses, shivers, and sighs of delight.

Lorenzo would have gladly spend the rest of his life preserved in that single moment, as if in amber, abandoning reality to live in the memory of that one single day. — Riccardo Bruni

I think my heart is in a very good place. And I think this is why I'm achieving what I've been asking to do in the universe for so long. — Riccardo Tisci

I've been working with Riccardo Tisci from Givenchy.It's been a long collaboration, and I don't think it's going to stop now. It's very important to me. Riccardo is younger than me, so it's great to have someone new teaching you in everything, not just in fashion. I'm teaching him in French style, what a women's style is, but he's teaching me in all of these different styles of music.I love this new world for me. It's refreshing and nourishing to keep learning about new things. — Carine Roitfeld

I've got what I want, and I've got the luck to express myself and to be paid and to do what I do as a creative person. — Riccardo Tisci

No matter how much people in fashion think we're so cool and avant-garde, for most fashion people, creativity is quite taboo. — Riccardo Tisci

I had only two girlfriends. I didn't have many friends because I was staying at home and dreaming - drawing and dreaming. — Riccardo Tisci

For me, darkness is something very beautiful, — Riccardo Tisci

I don't want to bother them and ruin the party they are preparing so carefully at La Scala. — Riccardo Muti

In Italy, especially in '70s and '80s, there was a lot of racism between north and south. And my mom immigrated from the south to the north, from Puglia, the heel of Italy. But what made me feel different was society, not my family. — Riccardo Tisci

My mom and my sisters were amazing; they always see the good in people. My mom, she doesn't know how to write and read much, but she's one of the most fantastic women I've met in my life. — Riccardo Tisci

My mom didn't teach me about Marco Polo. She didn't teach me about Napoleon. She didn't teach me about any of that. But she did teach me how to survive and to be a good person. And you need to be a strong woman to do that. She's the biggest person in my life. She's my Virgin Maria. That's why I love religion so much. — Riccardo Tisci

I am so grateful to Marc Jacobs, Riccardo Tisci, Karl Lagerfeld, and Katie Grand, who took a chance on me that first season and gave me an opportunity. — Kendall Jenner

Music does not know the difference between people; it only speaks to their hearts. It is the only form of communication that can bring this terrible world together. — Riccardo Muti

The universe is popping all over the place. — Riccardo Giacconi

I don't know what you're getting yourself into," said Majid, "but I know I don't like it. Some things in Venice are pure poison." Majid's eyes looked like they could bore through a stone wall. "If someone has put you on a demon's tracks, you'd better make sure the demon doesn't find you first."

"What's that supposed to mean," asked Mathias.

"It means behind every hand stained with blood there's another, and that one stays clean." Majid leaned in close, lowering his voice to a whisper. "What I'm saying is that behind a demon, there's always someone holding the creature on a leash. — Riccardo Bruni

People's wardrobes in history are something that society and culture imposed. But sexuality is not about the way you dress. — Riccardo Tisci

We didn't have a television, so we sat around the table, and me and my sisters and my mom would do these jobs, like, a penny for a piece, you know, these paper jobs. You know, what really saved me as a human today is my sisters and my mom. — Riccardo Tisci

Seduction is about intelligence and wit. Someone who makes me laugh has every chance to seduce me. — Riccardo Tisci

I've had this sensibility since I was a child. If there was a black boy in the school, I was the friend. If there was an effeminate guy, I was the friend. If there was somebody who was poor like me, I was the friend. — Riccardo Tisci

He was going to hurt the people he hated, but inside he didn't feel any real sense of satisfaction. He hated them all the more for having made him feel so small, so petty and mean, which was all he felt just then. But it wasn't enough to stop him. — Riccardo Bruni

Couture was only for rich people. Givenchy was for rich people. A bag cost 5,000 euro; a coat cost 10,000 euro. In the beginning, I couldn't react. I was just working like a machine, because I wanted to make the house happy. — Riccardo Tisci

Will there ever come a day when you put yourself first?"
"No, that day will never come."
"You're crazy, my old man."
"It will never come because I've finally realized that I want you by my side, now and forever. That I can no longer be just myself, standing alone. I need more."
Angelica's eyes filled with tears. She looked like she was fighting to hold them back.
"You really are crazy."

-Conversation between Mathias Munster and Angelica Zanon — Riccardo Bruni

At LVMH, we have amazing heritage brands, and we put interesting talents in those brands, sometimes very young, like we did at Givenchy with Riccardo Tisci at the time, or like we just did with J.W. Anderson at Loewe, but also talents that are already further along in their careers, like Raf Simons at Christian Dior or Nicolas at Vuitton. — Delphine Arnault

My relationship with religion is very strong because it was my hope, and it gave me two things very important in my life. It gave me the belief and it gave me a point to reach: Don't do something bad to the people next to you. — Riccardo Tisci

Anything I do, I do with my heart. This is why I sometimes get very upset or sometimes get very personal when I'm working. — Riccardo Tisci

In the beginning I didn't want to do a menswear collection. It felt a little forced. And then I found that it was an amazing world. — Riccardo Tisci

I was also very lucky to be able to work with talented people while I was learning. I didn't actually go to fashion school. I worked with Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy which was a really pivotal experience for me. He taught me a lot about being faithful to your own voice and to really believe in your own voice and that's made a big difference. — Joseph Altuzarra

I'm very faithful to myself. When you do things that are true it just comes out quite instinctively. — Riccardo Tisci

You have to be able to enthral and persuade at the same time. — Riccardo Muti

When I started at 9, I was working with plaster. I worked with a florist. It was a little illegal for kids to work. They would give you tips because they couldn't really give you wages. — Riccardo Tisci

I love art and music more than I love fashion, to be honest, — Riccardo Tisci

This is why I decided to work with Nike, too, because it is even more mass-market than Givenchy and could make entry-price shoes and make people dream to be part of the journey. — Riccardo Tisci

At the beginning, I didn't see what Givenchy could give my career. It was like, "Okay, I'll do it for the money for a few years to help my mom and my sisters." — Riccardo Tisci

The moment you think you have charisma, you are finished. — Riccardo Muti

When I was far away, when I prayed every night, I felt I was very near with my heart, with my brain, to my sisters and my mom. — Riccardo Tisci

There are amazing designers like Riccardo Tisci (whom I consider like my godfather in the industry), who are aware that beauty isn't defined by being just one thing or perceived in a single way. Today we hear people's voices, thanks to social media, and that can change things. This change is happening right now! — Maria Borges

I like when a man has one strong accessory. If it's a watch, it has to be major. If you have strong shoes, it should just be the shoes. I don't like when a man is overdone-that's just bad taste. Coco Chanel was always saying you have to watch yourself in the mirror, put on a lot of things, and then take them off. I think it should be that way for men as well. — Riccardo Tisci

He thought back to everything that happened the night before: the hooded men, the chase, his tired heart and weak legs. The very moment in which Mathias realized it was over, when he'd decided to sacrifice his own life in order to save the young man by his side, the monk had found something fundamental inside himself. Deep in his soul, in that hidden place that can only be discovered when a person finds himself poised on the edge of the abyss, gasping what he thought was his last breath, he'd suddenly seen it. Only then did he realize what he held dearest in his heart. Because the last thing to cross his mind, what he'd thought about the moment he'd spun around, prepared to impale himself on the blade, had been a face. No thoughts of God or faith or any other saint. A face. That's when everything became clear. — Riccardo Bruni

You have to channel the interpretation and performance into 100 people. And with the audience, the critics. — Riccardo Muti

My life has changed financially and I have a name, but I try to never forget people on my journey. — Riccardo Tisci

One thing my mom didn't want any of us to do was to cry or to complain about life. Every day and night, even when we didn't have much food, we would pray together. And that for me was a beautiful moment. The fact of being poor didn't really hurt me. — Riccardo Tisci

Black is always elegant. It is the most complete colour in the whole world, made of all the colours in the palette. — Riccardo Tisci

Moses Luzzatto always said to be patient during the hard times, that they would have to endure and make sacrifices while they waited for better times to come. He urged Simone and the other Jewish boys not to provoke the Venetians, saying they should remain separate and focus on their work. He said their traditions were crucial to their identity, just as they were for their fathers before them. — Riccardo Bruni

I didn't invent hot water. But when I approach menswear, I do it in a very honest way. And my menswear and womenswear are very similar, in the sense that I put men in leggings and lace shirts. — Riccardo Tisci

I'm not shy in the spotlight. I might seem austere and even arrogant, but far from it, I'm actually shy. — Riccardo Muti

My definition of beauty is something between extremely ugly and extremely fantastic. — Riccardo Tisci

It is extraordinary to have time to again study Le nozze di Figaro and discover new things. — Riccardo Muti

In the beginning, I was very punk. I was very revolutionary. When they asked me to do Givenchy, I didn't want to do it. My friends pushed me. But the situation with my family was so bad financially. I really did it because, when they told me how much they would pay me, I saw that my sisters and my mom could have a better life. — Riccardo Tisci

My friends were like, "Oh, this weekend, we're going to go shopping." "Oh, this weekend I'm going to go to see the judo champion" ... you know. And I couldn't do anything. — Riccardo Tisci

I was a very nice boy. I was well-educated ... very Catholic family. So I was very respectful, never late at work. I was always the last one to leave. It's always been that way in my life. — Riccardo Tisci

You live in a damnably twisted and convoluted world," replied Mathias. "And you are trampling accross it with all the delicacy of an elephant in a glass shop!" -Conversation between Mathias Munster and Giacomo Foscarini — Riccardo Bruni

I'm very well off but I can stay with normal people. I can do a super-luxury life, but I can do a very normal life and I'm not scared. — Riccardo Tisci

I have closed that page of my life without rancor. I do not disown any of the work done. — Riccardo Muti

Meekness" is the word that is used to describe how to break a horse. It means "strength under control." That is who Jesus is; he is meek. He is the pure power of God, always under control. Everything he does, he does out of love. — John Riccardo

It seems like someone is using wars and our economic crisis to spread distrust and rancor among the population. In times like these, those are dangerous feelings to spread around. — Riccardo Bruni

Religion and love don't have a price, don't have a gender, a skin color, nothing. We are all on the same plate. — Riccardo Tisci

I come from a very poor family, with sisters. I never really knew my father, so I miss this strong image of a man in my life. — Riccardo Tisci

I try to destroy taboo in fashion-which is something I learned as a kid. I come from the street, and you have to be a survivor, — Riccardo Tisci

I brought a lot of the codification of womenswear to menswear. Why? Because when I was a child, I was wearing women's clothes adjusted to me. — Riccardo Tisci

The aborigines in Australia, the way they dress is very honest; it's not about: "Oh, you wear a skirt, you're gay." — Riccardo Tisci

I suffered a lot when there was, like, a birthday party and I was not invited. Not because I was ugly or stupid; I was not invited because the parents would say to the kids, "Don't invite him, because he's poor and he comes from the south of Italy, and he can't give you nothing." — Riccardo Tisci

Every two to three weeks, I was changing around my room. My room was made out of nothing, basically - a magazine, a little radio, a little bed - and I had the sensibility to put things together and match things in a certain way so that they were very special. — Riccardo Tisci

I am interested in beauty when it has something special and mysterious. — Riccardo Tisci

I've always been obsessed with things that are half animal and half human - like mermaids and Minotaurs - because they are trapped in an animal body. And I felt trapped in my own life. — Riccardo Tisci

The church must change, Brother,' Gheorg had said one day long ago, back when they were still theology students at the University of Leipzig. Christian faith cannot be the tool of a monarch who sells God's pardon in exchange for money and power. Our Lord speaks to ALL men, Mathias. The Church must be a place where all men can meet and pray, not a place where they must submit to the power of other men. God's word must reach everyone equally. — Riccardo Bruni

Are you afraid a demon has escaped Hell in order to descend upon the Venetians?"

"I think there are a few who'd deserve it, but I'm also a man of science, and I believe that we all carry our own private infernos inside ourselves."

-Conversation between Majid and Mathias — Riccardo Bruni

I didn't know I was going to become a designer; I was going to become a successful person, but I really wanted to be free. — Riccardo Tisci

I tried to never exclude people. I know what it means to be left out. — Riccardo Tisci

There was a loneliness because kids my age had video games, tennis. They traveled. They had beautiful clothes. I was wearing my sisters' old clothes that were adjusted on me, because we didn't have money to buy clothes. So that really made me go deep inside on my heart, because the only things I could have with me were my heart and my brain. — Riccardo Tisci

I always think about the streets because that's where I come from and that's where I'm going to die one day. That is my life. — Riccardo Tisci

I used to hate to go to school, because when it was Friday afternoon and everybody was finished school, I knew I was going to work Saturday and Sunday. — Riccardo Tisci

To leave Italy at 17 without money and go to a country like England is very rare; Italians stay with the family until 30, 35. But I couldn't stand to live in this box anymore. I was getting bigger, and the box was getting smaller. — Riccardo Tisci

You must always conduct your business with a clear mind, free of personal issues. Until you learn this simple fact, you'll never get anything out of life. -Moses Luzzatto — Riccardo Bruni