It was a long time ago, we were in the office, and we had finished work exhausted. A friend of a friend said 'Hey, take this it will give you energy,' so I thought I'd try it. I didn't know what it was. It made me laugh and laugh, like crazy...to the point that my back hurt' *he holds his hips* 'like I'd just had a baby.

The interesting thing about basketball is that it is played recreationally all over the world in playgrounds where people shoot hoops. Perhaps it is because of this that the look of the game seems to have been able to cross over into streetwear more easily than that of some sports that are confined to more specialist arenas.

I design for real people. I think of our customers all the time. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothing or accessories that are not practical.

My brands all are unique in terms of their spirits, but they have the same Armani stamp. There is a level of taste which runs through every single product. Sitting side by side, they are perhaps more stimulating than they would be just on their own. It gives a new idea, a new proposal, a new perspective.

Today we no longer live in a way that is constrained by simple working or leisure environments - we travel, we work on laptops in coffee shops, we go out to dinner straight from work.

When I go on my boat or to my vacation houses, where I still unfortunately spend very little time, I don't go with the celebrities I know but with a close group of friends and people who have worked with me for a long time.

I didn't have a happy childhood.