'The crisis is the time when one should create new ways of doing things ... find solutions ... and put even the most basic things into question.' —Jean Paul Gaultier, designer
'I don't know anything about the financial crisis. We'll make a recovery by everyone loving their life, each other and being positive.' —Roberto Cavalli, designer
'I detest this period of fantasy we were in where you had something for three seconds and then you threw it away. The last few years have been a nightmare! It's one thing to have a dream, but this was overkill.' —Manolo Blahnik, designer
'We are arriving at the end of a fashion cycle. There has been nothing very new for a long time, and a general tiredness has been established.' —Jean Bousquet, founder and managing director of Cacharel
'People say it will never go back to the way it was. I don't believe it. They're going to forget. They are going to want to enjoy their lives and spend again.' —Donatella Versace, designer
'I am too angry to cry.' —Christian Lacroix, designer, on his company's financial troubles
Sources: Reuters; Sunday Times; Financial Times (2); New York Times; Telegraph