There are many things Calvin Klein would have never done - he would have never put men in leggings in a show; he would have never done a fluorescent suit - but these are things that are right for the moment. For example, a fluorescent suit is graphic, and Calvin Klein is about being graphic. And Calvin Klein is always modern at its core, so I inject my own research and my own innovation, and I make it my own. But I never deny that core, because that would be stupid.

When I come up with an idea for the collection, it's usually very precise, and I would say that every time, you're going to see that idea on the catwalk. It will go through ups and downs, but it's not going to be changed in the last month, that's for sure.

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.

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.

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.

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