I've been very lucky to put women that I sincerely admire on the cover of 'Vogue:' the then First Lady and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and, more recently, First Lady Michelle Obama. Those were benchmarks for the magazine, and certainly covers that I've been very, very proud of.

Fashion is not beautiful, neither is it ugly. Why should it be either? Fashion is fashion.

Everyone should be sacked at least once in their career because perfection doesn't exist. It's important to have setbacks, because that is the reality of life.

It's the mishaps that make it fun, and brings you the surprise.

It's important for young women and men coming out of the fashion schools to think seriously before starting their own collections.

Even if I'm completely unsure, I'll pretend I know exactly what I'm talking about and make a decision.

I'm an ice queen, I'm the Sun King, I'm an alien fleeing from District 9 and I'm a dominatrix. So I reckon that makes me a lukewarm royalty with a whip from outer space.