I rarely go into a shop on holiday, because fashion and design are what I'm involved in every day. I need another world.

If you think that you did everything and know everything and that everything has been done perfectly well, then it's time to retire.

Fashion is magical, a fantasy. It's madness, and it doesn't last. It's changing all the time.

Politics are private. I don't understand people who try to convince you to join one party or another.

If you do something for so long, it's really great in your life, right?

I love books; my suitcases are always full of them. Books and shoes. I read when I am sad, when I am happy, when I am nervous. My favourite British author is Jane Austen, and my favourite American one is John O'Hara.

I was schooled at home, then didn't go to university because I married when I was 17. I didn't go into work until late in my life.