Marcel Wanders

People like their handbag more than their sofa, and I hate it.

I've always liked the idea of making things that last forever, not necessarily in the sense of being unbreakable, but more psychologically permanent. Most people throw stuff away not because it's broken but because their relationship with that object is broken.

A good gift celebrates the relationship between the giver and the receiver. When you open that box, you feel like, 'Wow, you really understood me.' At the same time, you think this gift could come only from that person.

Function is fundamental to design, of course. If something doesn't work, it's a bad product, and I certainly get frustrated by things that aren't functional. But there has to be more than function. A house has to function, but if that's all it does, you don't love it.

Beauty is only about relationships. Nothing is beautiful on its own.

Whatever you put around yourself, you will be the mirror of it. Surround yourself with things you love.

An object should elicit desire, and often it happens not because people need it but because they love it.

I like transparency. I love to have views throughout the house.

I have 60 people working for me in my studio. That's luxury if you ask me. I just dream. Tell those people that I want a certain thing. Those people will then invest days, and sometimes months, in bringing that idea to life. What more could you ask for? That's luxury for me.

If I have any basic motivation, it's to inspire people to make their life a masterpiece.

I have been a designer all my life, and design, for me, is to share love and trust and show the future in a beautiful way. I have worked on this principle all my life.

Why would you spend your life and your time doing something that's insignificant?