He's an innocent in a lot of ways. He's a very simple person who really doesn't have the resources or the strength, ultimately, to handle the situation.

A little ego can be quite entertaining. But [Alessandro Michele is] a very humble, gentle, kind person. And I think that his humanity would probably surprise a lot of people, because he's so confident and bold in the choices that he makes.

When I was a kid, I used to live in New York City. There was a guy named Michael Alig. He used to throw parties. And a couple of times, I even worked for him and his crew, and handed out fliers, and had my super-high shoes on, and wearing silver Saran Wrap around my head or something. It's a world I was really comfortable in: a world full of individuals. I think what I like about that world - besides my own personal interests - is the individualism, the investment in the self.

I mean, if I'm going to the Oscars or something, yes, there are people that are contributing and I'll tell them what I don't like or whatever. I know what I don't like.

I don't know, when I was a kid, when I would see shows that changed my life, I would go to see shows where there was my mother taking us to see classic rock concerts, like Zeppelin, or when I saw Pink Floyd or when I saw, you know, when I was a little older, and I saw Nine Inch Nails, and I saw The Cure.

This is an industry [high fashion] that has an abundance of over-confidence. I don't think anyone would dispute that, and I'm not trying to pick on anybody, but that's just a fact, right? And sometimes that's fun.

Impossible is possible if you put your mind into it and don't give up.