If we give girls and women the chance to change their lives, they can change the world.

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.

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 like tough relationships. I think relationships with conflict are good for you - you learn. But you can't listen too much. I have a strong point of view, and it's important that I fight for my ideas.

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.

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 wake up in the night screaming sometimes when I've had a fight with my husband, more than with the company. I still sleep very well. I take it day by day. I am a very pragmatic person. That's how I survive.