I had a very different vibe then, I was very into minimalism. I was kind of obsessed with Helmut Lang and [Martin] Margiela.

Tom Ford just started at Gucci and was getting great notoriety - like Madonna wearing that head-to-toe velvet suit at the MTV awards. I remember it like it was yesterday.

I had a very different vibe then, I was very into minimalism. I was kind of obsessed with Helmut Lang and [Martin] Margiela.

There weren't paparazzi standing outside. There weren't all these photographers. People really didn't know what fashion was and what was happening in the tents.

I feel like fashion was much more exclusive. There weren't as many parties. There weren't as many social gatherings. It wasn't required that designers have events to lure customers or editors or any of that - it was about a show. If there was a dinner or a party, people would go out after. New York nightlife was about late nights and dancing.

I went to Bergdorf Goodman as an assistant in the fashion office and that was really my first exposure into the world of retail. Dawn Mello was president at the time and she had just left Gucci where she found Tom Ford.

Calvin Klein and Donna Karan were the big American names at that point in time, Helmut [Lung] was the cool kid on the block and you had Marc Jacobs and John Galliano who starting the revival of the old fashion houses.