I wasn't the trendiest girl at college.

I don’t shout the loudest, and I’m quite shy, which was why I was reluctant to throw myself into the public eye. I love beauty, craftsmanship, storytelling and romance, and I probably don’t have the armor to survive the relentless competition that exists in this particular world. But I have my own toughness.

Alexander McQueen's designs are all about bringing contrasts together to create startling and beautiful clothes and I hope that by marrying traditional fabrics and lacework, with a modern structure and design we have created a beautiful dress for Catherine on her wedding day.

Do what you love and believe in, and work hard.

A McQueen woman always has to feel powerful. She's never a girly girl, she's always a woman.

Every day, I love what I do and I think it's a gift and privilege to love your job.

The range of genre that we is very diverse, which makes for a fun and multi-dimensional show, but creating something that flows, depending on what kind of vibe the show is going to be [loud dive bar, small theatre, festival] is a bit of an art a haphazard art at times.

When you design a collection, you have to start with what you love and what you believe in. Unless you do that, you can't stand behind it, so there's no point in doing it.

The McQueen woman doesn't want to feel casual. It's not that kind of world. When you put on the clothes, they make you stand differently, feel differently. It was about how to do that but make it feel light. I've always been part of Lee's romantic side, that's what I love.

There'll always be a McQueen woman. She's strong, powerful & when she puts a McQueen jacket on, she feels different.

I really think that creating clothes and fashion has to be a statement about how we live and where we live and what's happening in the world.