Emilio Pucci obviously I think it's one of the best houses in Italy - and one of the most legendary ones as well. That's why I came here. I also like the idea of working with a house that has a history that you can collaborate and exchange ideas with in the way you would with another person.

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.

I spend tons of time on the music for the fashion shows. I work with this DJ, Jeremy Healy, and we do, like, four or five sessions during the week leading up to the show where we put the music together.

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.

I'm not intellectual at all as a designer. Whatever I'm into at the moment is usually what becomes the collection.

Florence is probably one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It's very quiet as well - there's not much nightlife - so it definitely keeps me focused on the work.

Working in the old fashion house is like how your parents raise you and give you this base, and you eventually grow up and have to say, "Well, you gave me this, but now I need to go my own way." So, more than finding a balance, it's about taking the good parts of what you've been given and bringing your own thing to it in order to take it all somewhere else - and hopefully, forward.