Mid-'80s in New York was fantastic. I remember my first Gay Pride parade in the city. Where I grew up was very sheltered, so when I got to the city, there was this freedom and so much happening. At the same time, there was this pressure of AIDS and everything else. New York is so different today.

I don't love reading so much, but I love book shopping.

I wanted to be involved with fashion, though I didn't know what being a designer meant.

Being sexy is not about what's on show, it's all about suggestion, or insinuation. I'm interested in the way a garment hangs on a woman's body and the way it moves when she moves.

I drape a lot. I cut. I have to touch. For me, it's almost impossible to start without that.

People don't really go to museums in Rio. I shouldn't say it's not sophisticated, but, you know, they go to the beach.

I could never before say that I loved color or that I understood color. But Oscar de la Renta opened up a side of my brain.