It was time to come up here and retire with my wonderful husband, and my children and my grandchildren, and make that change. I'm not good at hanging on. When I make a decision to cut it off, I have to cut it off completely. I'm not good at, "Oh, I'll stick around and consult a little bit." I'm not good at that and I don't want to do that. I don't think you get anywhere doing that. I mean, I don't, although other people might. But that's not my personality. It's not my id. I have to make the break and be a good sport and adjust to it.

I put pressure on myself to propose something new - I think it's the minimum that you can do as a fashion designer.

More than anything, I'm designing for a woman of today. I want to be a witness of my time.

Today, kids are much more aware of what fashion means, but when I was growing up, it was popular, but not as popular as today. Like any kid, I was fascinated by drawing. But when some of the kids let go, I kept drawing and drawing.

Sometimes you never feel lonelier than when you are always doing tons of things and traveling all over the place. There is a real feeling of loneliness sometimes.

If I were to find something that is going to be more important to me than fashion - that would be work and love - then I probably would let go. That's a possibility. But fashion is an addiction.

With my designs and my ideas, I want to please myself first. I'm always very stressed about making a new proposition every season. But in a way, it's a kind of addiction. In another way, it's a crazy pressure. I try to stay quiet about the whole situation, because fashion itself can be crazy, and everyone wants a part of you.