For me, beauty and fashion are always connected. One doesn't exist without the other. Make up is a key element of the Gucci runway show - it helps communicate the essence of the Gucci woman. Eyes, skin, lips - they're like accessories, all working together to create an unmistakable look.

I have to tell you, a few people had very controversial feelings about what I was doing with Gucci at the beginning, and now, after a couple of years, they are changing their minds. I want to give journalists the time and space to know me and what I'm doing better. But it's not a priority for me. At the end of the day, I am not an artist; I am not doing a performance; I'm doing things that need to be sold. And I know my job.

My biggest satisfaction is always when I make something beautiful and well-done that I can see on a real man or woman - not only in the glossy magazines.

I think the simplest way to break the ice is probably to try playing on the same level, to discuss everything in normal life. So, for example, with Katie Holmes, we just spent one hour talking about her daughter. Or with Madonna, when we were working on the event in New York, we spent hours deciding every single aspect together, from the dishes to the flowers to the cards.

All the drawings and sketches and clothes of Yves Saint Laurent in the '70s were so colorful, so bright.

I always loved the look of musicians. I've always admired them because they have a look - when I was growing up, it seemed that the ones I liked didn't need to have a stylist.

I don't want to be too 'classic' because it's not in the DNA of Gucci. You need to be a little bit provocative.