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.

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

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.

Venice never quite seems real, but rather an ornate film set suspended on the water.

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.

I can tell that sometimes I live a very good moment and I'm very joy- ful and optimistic, so I can see more bright colors in my collection. [laughs] Other times I feel so depressed and so sad and I see a lot of darkness. So it really depends. Of course, there are certain rules you have to operate by in terms of markets, and for summer and for winter. But at the end of the day, you are a person and you put a lot of yourself into the clothes. You know, I can never decide what I am going to wear on the day of the show. It depends a lot on which mood I wake up in that day, so I never know.

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.