What people look to me for is a whole look. People come to me for icing on the cake, not a basic stretch pant.

I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit.

A piece of fabric can get me going.

Every collection that I work on, I always think, Is this cool enough to wear to a concert?

I knew since the age of four that I wanted to be a clothing designer. I read an article in LIFE magazine about two young ladies that graduated from Parsons School of Design, and when they graduated they went to Paris and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor opened a boutique for them. So I thought, "Oh, I just have to go to Parsons, that's all."

You still get the sheer quality coming through but you're covered.

You just pray that something is going to hit you like lightning. Like a movie, a book, or a photograph, a painting, something that you can riff on it and learn more about it and explore it, and just go on a journey with it. So lots of times when I choose a theme, I'll also incorporate other things that I'm doing at that period.