The Fashion Institute of Technology treated its outgoing class to a double bill at this year's graduation ceremony: Both Bobbi Brown and Christian Louboutin took the stage to make commencement addresses. Brown, a "bonafide [beauty] tycoon with more than 40 stores and 1,000 counters around the world," Teen Vogue writes, shared some of the wisdom she's gained during her three-decade-long (and counting) career.
Louboutin, who conveyed a smattering of lessons learned, like listen to your "inner timing," and "enjoy the process of every day," riled up the crowd (or this crowd, at least) with his "break the rules" bit. When he started out in Paris, he had to sift through les idées reçu, the preconceived notions, of beginning a business. "One, I remember, was you should never sleep where you work," Louboutin rattled off. "Another was never work with friends — you end up becoming enemies. For eight years, I slept in my design studio! There were no showers, but I felt great. I don't regret that I slept where I was working. And also, I started my company 23 years ago with my two best friends, Henri and Rinaud — 23 years later, we are still the three best friends."
Louboutin added that he currently resides in an apartment that contains a shower. Click through to read the rest of the duo's sage advice, applicable to recent and not-so-recent grads alike. (Teen Vogue)