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 didn't know who Calvin Klein was, really. But Brooke Shields, we knew her from those incredible commercials - "There's nothing between me and my Calvins." I knew very little about American fashion then. I had no money, and Charivari was very educational to me. And Parachute. I was fascinated by those stores. I couldn't buy anything; I just went through the clothes.

I have no tolerance for boredom. I spend so many hours in the office, and I still love it.

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

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.

When a sketch comes into this three-dimensional form and everybody contributes, it's really fantastic.

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.