I was a very nice boy. I was well-educated ... very Catholic family. So I was very respectful, never late at work. I was always the last one to leave. It's always been that way in my life.

When I was 12, I used to dress as a woman in the house. At the time, cross-dressing was a big taboo in Italy. It was better to have a son who was a drug addict than a cross-dresser.

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.

This is very much part of my style, I work a lot on the back ­ - I love the back of clothes for men. I love even T-shirts printed behind. I think, "Why do you want to show only the front?"

In spite of the fact that everyone thinks I am very much a rottweiler - that i am very dark and everything - I have a side that is very romantic that i show to very few people.

My obsession when I was kid, from '85 into the '90s, was Gianni Versace. It was Helmut Lang. It was Margiela. So I said, "I cannot have Givenchy only as a luxury house; I'm going to introduce products for everybody, things that are reachable."

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