---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My designs are slightly subversive in…"
description: "\"My designs are slightly subversive in their way; it can be in the cut or the colour, but they're always obtainable: they're not so difficult that a 40-..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/giles-deacon-4411_designs_my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-th_2856244.jpg"
---

#  My designs are slightly subversive in their way; it can be…

![“My designs are slightly subversive in their way; it can be in the cut or the colour, but they're always obtainable: they're not so difficult that a 40-year-old woman wanting to go to a cocktail party looking foxy and a little bit different in something well-made would be alienated by them.” quote by Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/giles-deacon-4411_designs_my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-th_2856244.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/giles-deacon-4411_designs_my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-th_2856244.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/giles-deacon-4411_designs_my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-th_2856244.jpg)

> “My designs are slightly subversive in their way; it can be in the cut or the colour, but they're always obtainable: they're not so difficult that a 40-year-old woman wanting to go to a cocktail party looking foxy and a little bit different in something well-made would be alienated by them.”

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Designs subtly challenge norms through cuts or colors while remaining accessible and appealing to a broad audience.

**In simple terms:** Subtle rebellion that stays wearable.

Key Takeaway

Blend edge with wearability.

Themes

fashion subversion accessibility

Mood

confident playful

Type

practical inspirational

When to use this quote

- runway shows
- retail displays
- personal styling

Key Concepts

design theory consumer psychology age inclusivity

Questions to Reflect On

- How can designers push boundaries without alienating customers?
- What makes a design feel both fresh and familiar?

A Different Perspective

Risk of being too subtle to be noticed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cocktail Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocktail-party/) [Designs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designs/) [Designs Slightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designs-slightly-3828973/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Looking Foxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-foxy-3828974/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) [Woman Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-wanting-784818/)

## Related quotes

> [It would evidently take more than a political regime, more than dire poverty to stop a woman from wanting to be well-dressed: it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-evidently-take-more-than-a-political-regime-more-than-dire/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We're in a world where every single movie, if it has a woman in it, is usually wrapped around the woman wanting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-heche/we-re-in-a-world-where-every-single-movie-if-it-has-a-woman-in-it-is/)

[Anne Heche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-heche/)

> [I would argue that the uncomfortable feelings she elicits are simply the by-product of watching a woman wanting and taking like a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-phair/i-would-argue-that-the-uncomfortable-feelings-she-elicits-are-simply/)

[Liz Phair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-phair/)

> [Here we are, a man and a woman, both wanting the same things, and yet, you aren’t attracted to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/here-we-are-a-man-and-a-woman-both-wanting-the-same-things-and-yet/)

[Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/)

> [“A woman wanting to come to the battlefield was like … well, like a man wanting to read. Unnatural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/a-woman-wanting-to-come-to-the-battlefield-was-like-well-like-a-man/)

[Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/)

> [“Battle was a masculine art. A woman wanting to come to the battlefield was like... well, like a man wanting to read. Unnatural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/battle-was-a-masculine-art-a-woman-wanting-to-come-to-the-battlefield/)

[Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/)

> [ “\[Garrincha\] was the one who would climb out of the training camp window because he heard from some far-off back alley call of a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/garrincha-was-the-one-who-would-climb-out-of-the-training-camp-window/)

[Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/)

> [“Press button woman was there for him For whatever he was wanting. No demand was too big Press button woman knew her gig.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/press-button-woman-was-there-for-him-for-whatever-he-was-wanting-no/)

[Initially NO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/initially-no/)

> [My designs at Ungaro are a lot more sexual, in more of an obvious way: my personal designers are a little bit more sideways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/my-designs-at-ungaro-are-a-lot-more-sexual-in-more-of-an-obvious-way/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [“That's right I was speaking to the creator of universe as though we had just been introduced at a cocktail party.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-right-i-was-speaking-to-the-creator-of-universe-as-though-we/)

[elizabeth gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Without peanuts, it isn't a cocktail party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/without-peanuts-it-isn-t-a-cocktail-party/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [I don’t want to do a cocktail party. I’d rather people left my shows and vomited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mcqueen/i-don-t-want-to-do-a-cocktail-party-i-d-rather-people-left-my-shows/)

[Alexander McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mcqueen/)

> [I misremember who first was cruel enough to nurture the cocktail party into life. But perhaps it would be not too much to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-misremember-who-first-was-cruel-enough-to-nurture-the-cocktail/)

[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

> [Finally ... You have accomplished your mission in going there tonight - you were 'seen,' and you furnished your host and hostess with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-baldrige/finally-you-have-accomplished-your-mission-in-going-there-tonight-you/)

[Letitia Baldrige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-baldrige/)

> [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/)

[Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/)

## More by Giles Deacon

> [Single-sex private schools, especially in the middle of nowhere on a bleak hill in County Durham - I don't think they make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/single-sex-private-schools-especially-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-on-a/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I don't really have a mentor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-don-t-really-have-a-mentor/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [One day I'll do a Dorian Gray, and there will be a picture in the attic. I'll look like Helen Daniels from 'Neighbours' after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/one-day-i-ll-do-a-dorian-gray-and-there-will-be-a-picture-in-the/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [DAKS is a much more restrained silhouette, and there's a real emphasis on daywear, outerwear, and tailoring. It's more stripped-down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/daks-is-a-much-more-restrained-silhouette-and-there-s-a-real-emphasis/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I like to have a swim in the morning, a great way to start the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-like-to-have-a-swim-in-the-morning-a-great-way-to-start-the-day/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [Anyone looking for a black cashmere sweater isn't going to come to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/anyone-looking-for-a-black-cashmere-sweater-isn-t-going-to-come-to-me/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I liked natural history. I liked the outdoors. And I found the sea quite interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-liked-natural-history-i-liked-the-outdoors-and-i-found-the-sea/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [Everybody's got a lot to their personalities. You're not just one element. There are some days you want something that can be a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/everybody-s-got-a-lot-to-their-personalities-you-re-not-just-one/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I had a great teacher who was really encouraging and said I should go to Central Saint Martins. So I worked my socks off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-had-a-great-teacher-who-was-really-encouraging-and-said-i-should-go/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I didn't set out wanting to be a fashion designer from the age of 3. It wasn't that kind of dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-didn-t-set-out-wanting-to-be-a-fashion-designer-from-the-age-of-3/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [Testosterone is a great equalizer, it turns all men into morons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/testosterone-is-a-great-equalizer-it-turns-all-men-into-morons/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [Rooney Mara is someone I'd like to dress; we've not worked with her before and she certainly has very interesting personal style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/rooney-mara-is-someone-i-d-like-to-dress-we-ve-not-worked-with-her/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I go to L.A. three or four times a year. It's great for research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-go-to-l-a-three-or-four-times-a-year-it-s-great-for-research/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I love London. Wherever I've lived, I've always had my flat here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-love-london-wherever-i-ve-lived-i-ve-always-had-my-flat-here/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

> [I do like designing clothes that are - not exactly lofty but intellectual in their sexiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-do-like-designing-clothes-that-are-not-exactly-lofty-but/)

[Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

[Explore all 111 Giles Deacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/)

## More Designs quotes

> [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Prayer is a specific divine appointment, an ordinance of Heaven, whereby God purposes to carry out His gracious designs on earth and to execute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/prayer-is-a-specific-divine-appointment-an-ordinance-of-heaven/)

[Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/)

> [While fractal geometry is often used in high-tech science, its patterns are surprisingly common in traditional African designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-eglash/while-fractal-geometry-is-often-used-in-high-tech-science-its/)

[Ron Eglash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-eglash/)

> [My designs and labors and aspirations are my only friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/my-designs-and-labors-and-aspirations-are-my-only-friends/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Leon Theremin's original designs are elegant, ingenious and effective. As electronics goes, the theremin is very simple. But there are so many subtleties hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moog/leon-theremin-s-original-designs-are-elegant-ingenious-and-effective/)

[Robert Moog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moog/)

> [I founded Minted in 2007 with the desire to use 'crowd-sourcing' to bring designs from the best emerging and independent designers in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariam-naficy/i-founded-minted-in-2007-with-the-desire-to-use-crowd-sourcing-to/)

[Mariam Naficy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariam-naficy/)

> [Programmers and marketing people know how to get into your subconscious - they spend millions of dollars researching colors, shapes, designs, symbols, that affect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hatch/programmers-and-marketing-people-know-how-to-get-into-your/)

[Richard Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hatch/)

> [The designs were based on quite a lot of research of what a movie musical is, filtered through the eyes of today. If we'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-atwood/the-designs-were-based-on-quite-a-lot-of-research-of-what-a-movie/)

[Colleen Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-atwood/)

> [A designer can mull over complicated designs for months. Then suddenly the simple, elegant, beautiful solution occurs to him. When it happens to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-frankowski/a-designer-can-mull-over-complicated-designs-for-months-then-suddenly/)

[Leo Frankowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-frankowski/)

> [Everything we do is designed, whether we're producing a magazine, a website, or a bridge. Design is really the creative invention that designs everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-petroski/everything-we-do-is-designed-whether-we-re-producing-a-magazine-a/)

[Henry Petroski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-petroski/)

> [Postmodernism came nowhere close in quality to Modernism at its apogee, not least because that later style wholly lacked the social impetus that animated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/postmodernism-came-nowhere-close-in-quality-to-modernism-at-its/)

[Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/)

> [The thing that makes my clothes really different is that, number one, they are really great designs; they're not tacky; they are very professional;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/the-thing-that-makes-my-clothes-really-different-is-that-number-one/)

[Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/)

> [Light rails are too bus-like to impress most commuters, too squished and close to the ground. Monorails, by contrast, strike a chord with travelers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-i-koerner/light-rails-are-too-bus-like-to-impress-most-commuters-too-squished/)

[Brendan I. Koerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-i-koerner/)

> [My designs are meant to attract the hand as well as the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/my-designs-are-meant-to-attract-the-hand-as-well-as-the-eye/)

[Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/)

> [The designs are more about the whole thing rather than the details, and if I were to do the big shapes I do, color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-pugh/the-designs-are-more-about-the-whole-thing-rather-than-the-details/)

[Gareth Pugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-pugh/)

[Browse all 97 Designs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designs/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My designs are slightly subversive in their way; it can be in the cut or the colour, but they're always obtainable: they're not so difficult that a 40-year-old woman wanting to go to a cocktail party looking foxy and a little bit different in something well-made would be alienated by them.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Giles Deacon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-their-way-it-can-be-in-the-cut/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Designs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-their-way-it-can-be-in-the-cut/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/giles-deacon-4411_designs_my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-th_2856244.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/giles-deacon-4411_designs_my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-th_2856244.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/giles-deacon-4411_designs_my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-th_2856244.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My designs are slightly subversive in their way; it can be in the cut or the colour, but they're always…” — Giles Deacon",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Giles Deacon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My designs are slightly subversive in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-their-way-it-can-be-in-the-cut/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/my-designs-are-slightly-subversive-in-their-way-it-can-be-in-the-cut/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
