When I joined Gucci in 2002, I immediately wanted to make a research trip into the archives because I'd heard about how incredible they were, but I never had the opportunity to visit them.

I don't like to treat a piece of clothing like an object of art because I don't consider myself an artist. I'm a designer.

The first thing I notice about a man are his shoes. Then I look at his watch.

It was very tough with Madonna at the beginning of the meeting because I was very embarrassed. But I'm a strong woman who knows what I want and what I'm doing, and I think that when you have very clear ideas in your life, you can have conversations with everyone.

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.

I grew up in Rome, in actually what I would say was a liberal, open-minded family. My father was an architect and my mother was a teacher of art history, so it was sort of intellectual, and maybe a bit much for me when I was a child.

I am comfortable giving people direction. If something is not good enough, my job is to find a way to help them learn from their mistake, and understand that next time I expect better.