In prêt-à-porter now we understandably need to make the collection satisfy the big market more, so couture is extra special.

For me, aesthetically, Donatella Versace represent what the Italian woman is. There is always the American rock thing, the aristocratic, above-the-rest British manner, but Italy is at the heart of it.

I am very happy at Givenchy and it is a moment in which I am bringing the game to the next level. I feel at home. It's as if it were my son. I don't know how to explain it. It would be very difficult for me to leave.

I am super-Italian, not even European - Italian. And this is very precise. It's like houses. Over time they stabilize themselves in the terrain. I am still at the first step of a long staircase.

My life has changed financially and I have a name, but I try to never forget people on my journey.

I used to hate to go to school, because when it was Friday afternoon and everybody was finished school, I knew I was going to work Saturday and Sunday.

I am one who is very meridione - Southern Italian. I am proud of this. I design everything with my team, which is fantastic and small. I design by look. For example, people always comment to me, "When you do men's shirts, you always keep them closed on the catwalk." That's my thing.