I don't fret much about the natural life spans of shoe companies. If stores don't do the right things, they cease to exist, and that doesn't trouble me at all.

What inspires me is what I see people wearing on the streets of the world from New York to London and beyond. I get my ideas and inspiration from pounding the pavement all over the world. Today, fashion is dictated by individual style. To me, the fashion of the future is anything that a young guy or girl feels good wearing as long as it's put together in the right way.

So much of design is context.

There are a lot of people who get support from a thriving business.

You have to be a little contrite to get redemption.

I'm a New York story.

My strengths as a businessman lie in the design and sale of women's shoes, and I have never been comfortable with complicated or technical legal or business documents.