My father was an artist. When life was harder and he couldn't get jobs, he painted houses, but he was artistic. When I went to see his work, it was special. Somewhere along the line, I felt I was special. I didn't know why.

As a kid, I was always into clothes, but I didn't have the money to buy them. When I'd get my brothers' hand-me-downs, there was an energy in me that made me say, "I want to get my own things, to make my own statement." Somewhere along the line, that energy - coupled with my exposure, through movies, to a world I hadn't known - turned into something.

What's interesting about fashion is it's a world, and I think that's what I've done - I've made a contribution and I think I've built a world. The world is beyond just clothes. Taste and style is beyond clothes. It's in food; it's in quality.

I like magazines. I love to look at a magazine. But the magazines have got to get better. Everything pushes someone else to get better. So the Internet pushes the magazines.

I have always been drawn to the beauty of things designed to function. Mixing technical pieces with more traditional prints and patterns creates not only a quality experience, but a look that is unique, and for me, very exciting.

We all get report cards in many different ways, but the real excitement of what you're doing is in the doing of it. It's not what you're gonna get in the end - it's not the final curtain - it's really in the doing it, and loving what you're doing.

The best thing you can do is go away from this saying, 'I can do this too,' because it's all possible and I'm living proof.