That was the idea behind glam clubs like Seven and The New Eve. You could eat and dance to live music. To enter you had to descend a grand staircase.

Italy is a divided country without a center.

I am still in love with couture because it is just two months from drawing pad to runway so everything on the catwalk is hot from the oven.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been influenced by the idea that my name could be spread across the entire world.

I never loved the world around me as it was.

The exchange by e-mail is more intimate than conversation - you allow yourself to say things you otherwise wouldn't.

For me, haute couture is a necessity. I never would have done this job were it not for haute couture. It is a comfort, a security. I almost feel it is our duty to continue. Haute couture is France. We have to keep all the skills and craftmanship alive.