That quote brings me right back to my time at FIT in New York, where I had one draping teacher who would always say something along the same lines. She said there are designers and then there are stylists, and you need to decide what you are going to be. According to her a designer is someone who is always inventing new steps, or more specifically new shapes, proportions, maybe even sewing methods. Stylists on the other hand are designers who pick from existing shapes and proportions and then try to put them together in a new way.
Under that theory, Rei Kawakubo and Alexander McQueen would be designers, while Michael Kors might be a stylist. I had the sense my teacher respected the former more, but I never really agreed with that. It may be an interesting concept to have 3 sleeves on a top, but it's most likely not going to make you look pretty or make it easy to get in your car or eat your dinner. And I think for most of us clothes simply need to be practical. That's not to say I don't love the innovation that designers like Kawakubo bring, but I'd rather see them in the Met than in a clothing store.
One of my projects from school below.... very much stylist and not so much designer.....
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