"Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!"
About this Quote
A fashion designer telling you to "Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!" isn’t offering a platitude so much as a workflow. Donna Karan built an empire on subtraction: edit the clutter, cut the fuss, strip away whatever makes a body feel apologetic. In that light, "delete" is the operative verb. It borrows the brisk authority of technology and tailoring alike, implying that insecurity is not a personality trait but excess material you can remove. The line is motivational, sure, but it’s also managerial: curate your inputs, control the frame, move on.
The subtext lands squarely in Karan’s signature ethos of pragmatic confidence. Her Seven Easy Pieces and the rise of streamlined, modular dressing in late-80s/90s New York weren’t about fantasy; they were about women with real schedules, real ambition, and little patience for garments that demanded to be served. "Accentuate the positive" sounds sunny, but in fashion it’s strategic: highlight what you want the world to read first. It’s not denial; it’s direction.
Context matters because this kind of optimism isn’t neutral. In an industry that profits from manufactured dissatisfaction, Karan’s phrasing doubles as a counterspell and a sales pitch: you can feel better now, with fewer complications, if you adopt the right edits. The brilliance is its portability. It can be a dressing-room mantra, a brand philosophy, or a survival tactic for modern life, where negativity is the default feed and positivity has to be designed.
The subtext lands squarely in Karan’s signature ethos of pragmatic confidence. Her Seven Easy Pieces and the rise of streamlined, modular dressing in late-80s/90s New York weren’t about fantasy; they were about women with real schedules, real ambition, and little patience for garments that demanded to be served. "Accentuate the positive" sounds sunny, but in fashion it’s strategic: highlight what you want the world to read first. It’s not denial; it’s direction.
Context matters because this kind of optimism isn’t neutral. In an industry that profits from manufactured dissatisfaction, Karan’s phrasing doubles as a counterspell and a sales pitch: you can feel better now, with fewer complications, if you adopt the right edits. The brilliance is its portability. It can be a dressing-room mantra, a brand philosophy, or a survival tactic for modern life, where negativity is the default feed and positivity has to be designed.
Quote Details
| Topic | Optimism |
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