The money I've earned has enabled me to keep my life in my own hands. I had a terrific body, and I got paid for using it.

I'm loath to do interviews. What comes out is generally not what I meant or thought I was saying or thought they were asking.

I'm totally formed by my mother's interest in fashion. As a Hungarian immigrant, she couldn't afford clothes. She made all her clothes from patterns. It was not dépassé to make your own clothes, it was a respected skill and it was financially expedient. I learned that doing it yourself, having self-discipline and working went hand in hand. To work passionately at something is the key. I'm fortunate and blessed to have had, for the most part in my life, the privilege to work at something I'm passionate about.

As a model, I didn't have an identity; I was a chameleon, a silent actress. I was an amorphous thing. I wasn't full of personality, I was full of solitude and solemnity. I wasn't a cover-girl type.

I don't live for stuff and things, and if I had to live in a cardboard box, I would put curtains on it.

My mother was harsh and constantly told me I had jug ears and heaven knows what else. But she was devoted and a hard worker.

London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, offers the range of subjects that help young designers to arrange the underpinnings that are necessary to get from zero to 10. The hardest part is the beginning, understanding your passion and making the decision that whatever it takes, that's what you're going to do. London College of Fashion shows them what they must do and helps them to find their goal.