Istanbul is inspiring because it has its own code of architecture, literature, poetry, music.

Listen, to appeal to someone else you might put on a pair of shoes that you don't like or a dress you don't like. But there's no way you're going to put on a perfume you don't like; it's too personal.

A good pump is a silhouette, like the bone structure of the face. It's like a beautiful face with no make-up. You can cover a not-so-beautiful face with make-up, but it is just a mask - it is the same with shoes.

Shoes transform your body language and attitude. They lift you physically and emotionally.

I have always loved tartans - such an ornamented type of weaving, so vivid in colour, and such a masculine aspect. But actually, I think tartans can be feminine or masculine.

There is an element of seduction in shoes that doesn't exist for men. A woman can be sexy, charming, witty or shy with her shoes.

I never wanted to design clothes. I never wanted to work for the fashion industry. Shoes sort of belong to the fashion industry, which is why I'm part of the fashion industry. But that's never been my thought. My thought since I was a child was really to design those shoes for girls on stage.