There are so many fashion shows during fashion week, and the fashion show has almost become theater. It's all about the wow factor. And it's easy to make a name when you're shocking people all the time. But when you just make really, really great clothes, it can be difficult to get press and build a brand. What you do when you pare things back and make something timeless, though, is build a foundation to have a longer career and a stronger clientele.

To make a perfect t-shirt is hard - all you have is white cotton and fit. that's where experience comes in.

I'm not sure that being a man in the fashion industry has any advantage over being a woman. Why would it?

What's great is that there are a lot of brands - like Thom Browne, Michael Bastian, and Rag & Bone - but they're all doing their own thing. That's what's important: to remain true to your own DNA.

With Spurr, I like to think we're a modern, European-influenced brand that does luxurious, handcrafted, and wearable pieces.

I like to think of us as a more European-fit American brand, and invariably, when you go to Savile Row for a suit, you'll find that the suit fits you like a glove. That's how it should fit: form to your body. Especially here in the States, men have to really understand the importance of that fit. If I'm dressing a friend, I'll usually give him a size down from the one he's asked for; he'll think it's too small, but after a while he gets it.

From working with Ralph Lauren, I started to understand what it meant to build a brand. There were times when I was working there that it seemed so repetitive. At the time, I didn't understand what was happening. But when I stepped out of it, I realized what he was doing was achieving a signature look and reiterating that. That's why when you think about a polo shirt you think about Ralph - he owns that garment.