My success was also owed to career women who maybe had big legs or ample thighs, who felt well-protected by my fluid clothing that hid their flaws.

Anyone who is passionate about what they do will have a better chance of connecting with future generations than those who simply follow transient trends. At least their work will have a distinctive character, and this is what people respond to, I believe.

I know that people who have been closely involved with my work for many years are terrified of having to answer to someone else, someone who is not me, and that it won't be me to help them in their problems. This is my real problem.

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.

Youth culture adopts Armani and adapts it in its own way, as befits youthful enthusiasm.

Through fashion I have shown my interpretation of the competitive spirit by dressing sportsmen and women, choosing to work with both those who are among the world's most renowned athletes and also those who are yet to achieve fame in the arena of sport.

When I was younger, I never laughed. I was always sour. If I look at pictures of me from the past, I never see a smile. I think it came out of my insecurity. I had a lot of complexes.