My mom didn't teach me about Marco Polo. She didn't teach me about Napoleon. She didn't teach me about any of that. But she did teach me how to survive and to be a good person. And you need to be a strong woman to do that. She's the biggest person in my life. She's my Virgin Maria. That's why I love religion so much.

I think my heart is in a very good place. And I think this is why I'm achieving what I've been asking to do in the universe for so long.

Even at the beginning when I arrived at Givenchy, there were certainly people who supported me, but not everyone loved me. They were saying, "Why an Italian who acts Gothic?" Never mind the fact that Italy is one of the main exhibitors of Gothic art in the world. But it was like, "No, Italians should only do sexy!"

These five years as a couturier have really changed my way of seeing fashion and my confidence with fashion. Couture is a dream.

Anything I do, I do with my heart. This is why I sometimes get very upset or sometimes get very personal when I'm working.

I was the last one of nine kids - eight girls and me last - and my sisters were going out. They were teenagers. And as they were getting ready, I would sit on the bathtub and watch them put on makeup and transform themselves - you know, putting on clothes and giggling about the boys they were going to meet and everything. So for me, that was an amazing thing - the fact of transforming themselves.

Black is always elegant. It is the most complete colour in the whole world, made of all the colours in the palette.