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.

My parents had a factory, so I was linked to the textile and fashion industry.

Brazil is not what you see but what you feel. Once you spend time here - a week, two weeks - you get in the vibe. It's really intoxicating.

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

I like cold. I really like to go to cold towns. I love gray. I love winter.

I hope the average woman feels she needs practicality but with a little bit of fantasy. Otherwise it's just not fashion.

I only do what I do. For me, it is a craft. It's got to be my own thing - otherwise, I would never be successful. I could easily go to the archives and pull 1987 or 1991 collection by Calvin Klein. But when you look in there, you realize that it was never about one piece. It was about the collections as bodies of work.