Being a student in an art & design school, that was the moment for me, that was when I began to develop a lot of self-confidence and really come into my own.

If you don't have experience sewing, start with that, because that will inform what you are able to design.

People put on certain clothes for certain reasons, I assume, when their closet is filled with clothes.

I would say this to my students all the time, it's about 30% you as the teacher and 70% about them. They tend to think that their role is to be the baby bird in a nest and you're going to feed them? They're going to feed themselves, or they're going to starve.

I'm not sure what the moral is here...I really just wanted to tell that story.

I believe that it's very important to get to know people with whom you can have a substantive dialogue about design and its development. In addition, read everything about fashion that you can get your hands on. A palpable point of view is what makes a designer, so you need to be confident about yours.

If you told me when I was a teen that I would end up being a teacher, I would have said you're out of your mind, because quite frankly I hated school.