I was a teacher and an administrator at Parson's School of Design, and as an administrator, I was associate dean. And in that role, I went around fixing things that were broken. And the Parson's fashion program was broken.So fashion chose me. It needed to be developed and evolve. I don't know if it comes naturally to anyone.

I'm making the assumption that after Mrs. Obama leaves the White House that she will continue all of her work toward improving education in this nation and childhood health.

I'm constantly correcting young people and fashion students in this nation when they say "Well, I do couture." By definition, you don't. You have to be licensed by the government of France to do couture. So don't use that term. You can say that you do one-of-a-kind, you can say it's custom, but you can't say it's couture - because it's inaccurate.

You have no control over other people's taste, so focus on staying true to your own.

I'm doing all that I can to prod the industry and get them to pay more attention [to larger women and petite women]. Because I find it to be reprehensible and repugnant that two populations that are so pervasive in this nation should be so badly neglected.

I have a couple of thousand books in my personal library. Choosing a favorite is next to impossible. But I do love the written word.

Just the way it never rains when you have an umbrella, you'll never run into people if you look fantastic. But go outside in pajamas, and you'll run into every ex you have.