I think my biggest muses in fashion are probably rock 'n' roll girlfriends, like Anita Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull and Bianca Jagger - and then maybe Patti Smith a bit as well.

I'm really working on trying to get that lifestyle aspect of the Emilio Pucci house to be as strong as possible.

When I make a dress that someone wants to put on and somebody else wants to take off, then I know I've got it right. Because when someone looks good on the outside, they'll feel good on the inside.

Things are moving quicker and quicker. The internet age has made everything so immediate that what you're doing can start to feel outdated. That's probably the single thing that will most affect the fashion system in the near future. Time is the biggest subject matter in fashion today.

I think a lot of people, when they think about the house, they think of the print. But when people think about Emilio Pucci, I want them to think about this really, really hot girl, so my biggest job is to give her a face and an identity - and I do that by trying to associate that kind of print that people have in their minds with a kind of girl who is free-spirited, rebellious, a little bit rock 'n' roll, and who has a lot of energy, who is up.

That's always my downfall - when I start not having fun or not feeling passionate about what I'm doing. But that's why I love Emilio Pucci. There are some design houses that operate on a more intellectual level, but the way Pucci has always worked is more spontaneous and instinctual.

For me, coming to a fashion house and bringing my love and respect to it - and, hopefully, earning the love and respect of the house - is the only way to do it. I think of it as my own house in that sense as well. So I like not working from a blank piece of paper. I like that there's something from the past, some kind of identity that I have to work with. There are these good ghosts around, these good energies that kind of reinforce what you do.