Milan, for me, is a city of discovery. You can find some amazing gardens behind some great houses; I also love finding beautiful galleries and incredible shops, but you have to explore. And the food is amazing.

I didn't even have a portfolio, but I went to Tom Ford the next morning. He said, "I'd love you to come in with me. Get a lawyer." It was quite exciting, obviously, because it was a complete departure. But mind you, what he was looking for was the exact opposite of what I thought. My first collection for him was Cher-inspired. It was flower trousers, California, hippie cool, all the stuff I did at Oscar. It was making me sick. I wanted to see the other side of the spectrum. Tom was always very secure about the way he did things, so it was quite interesting for me.

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.

My love of fashion stemmed from my mother's passion for it.

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

You think of luxury when you think of Calvin Klein. He created this lifestyle that's really desirable, so our whole project has that quality of being lasting.

I get so much inspiration from my travels, but I also started an exercise where I write down so many words every week. Then I begin crossing them off. We create a grid of words and also images, but words for me are more ample because you can interpret them your own way.