I worked 10 years as a toy designer before I started my career as a fashion designer. It's something I just fell into and really liked.

I need to feel like I'm part of something. I need to feel part of the world when I go to sleep.

For a while, I just thought that I wanted to be an illustrator because that's all I wanted to do. I also did some sculpting. It was always very artsy and very feminine, everything that I did.

Designers have always shown outlandish and exuberant clothes, but that hasnt always translated to the streets.

Being feminine in the way you dress doesn't have to compromise who you are as a woman or your career.

In American culture you leave home at 18. In the Asian culture, your parents don't really want you to leave home. So my parents just thought I was going to be one of those kids. I was like, "I'm never going to make a living at whatever I do." I just liked pretty things.

I guess I accidentally became a part of history. Honestly, when you're young and you're a designer, you have a goal, but that is not the kind of goal that you even think it's possible to achieve.