I think what I'm doing is quintessentially American because I'm not American - even though I am on the verge of getting my American passport next week - I have a fantasy of what is American. Big spaces, Marlon Brando, James Dean, easy living.

The rules of the game in general are going to change for everything, not just menswear. People want to have fun with clothes. We sold out of the mirror suits in New York, and the black suits were still there. It tells me that men are looking for something that makes them feel good, makes them have fun, and makes them stand out. And it's all different sorts of men.

I always like to make sense of things that, in theory, would not make any sense together. It's true that the core of Calvin Klein has been . . . I don't want to say conservative, but real clothes that are worn by everybody.

Of course, we always get references from the past, but that doesn't mean that the clothes have to look like the past. We need to look forward, which is why I'm fascinated by new materials, technologies, techniques, and unusual ways to use colors or textures. It's very applicable to Calvin Klein because Calvin Klein has always been about modern-ness.

I have a very small team by choice, because I don't believe in teams of 55,000 people.

I'm not inspired by space in that kind of futuristic sense, but I've never liked retro. Of course, we always get references from the past, but that doesn't mean that the clothes have to look like the past. We need to look forward, which is why I'm fascinated by new materials, technologies, techniques, and unusual ways to use colors or textures.

In the office, I actually act quite demented the whole day. Like Monty Python. That's my favorite kind of humor. My assistants sometimes ask me to leave.