I try to destroy taboo in fashion-which is something I learned as a kid. I come from the street, and you have to be a survivor.

I didn't invent hot water. But when I approach menswear, I do it in a very honest way. And my menswear and womenswear are very similar, in the sense that I put men in leggings and lace shirts.

I've always been obsessed with things that are half animal and half human - like mermaids and Minotaurs - because they are trapped in an animal body. And I felt trapped in my own life.

To leave Italy at 17 without money and go to a country like England is very rare; Italians stay with the family until 30, 35. But I couldn't stand to live in this box anymore. I was getting bigger, and the box was getting smaller.

In the beginning I didn't want to do a menswear collection. It felt a little forced. And then I found that it was an amazing world.

My relationship with religion is very strong because it was my hope, and it gave me two things very important in my life. It gave me the belief and it gave me a point to reach: Don't do something bad to the people next to you.

I come from a very poor family, with sisters. I never really knew my father, so I miss this strong image of a man in my life.