I love New York. It's given me so much as a designer. When I moved here, I wanted to tap into the glamour of the city immediately. More than anywhere else, New York offers itself up - you arrive and get a rush in a flash. It's dazzling. Everywhere you look, there is decoration, from a pair of jewel-encrusted shoes in the window in Bergdorf Goodman to the Chrysler Building. And New York is incredibly democratic. Everyone is packed into this tiny space. You are confronted with all manner of people, and I love that.

Artists, like yourself, are born with a need to express that's just innate.

There aren't many strong or charismatic candidates today, because many people can't withstand the scrutiny.

Tweeting? It's one of the silliest things ever.

I don't work for money any longer. I'm fortunate enough not to need to work for money, but I work for pride; I work because I love to work, and so the idea that one could lose control of one's own name and that things could be produced with your name on that you were not proud of scared me.

When you are having fun and creating something you love, it shows in the product. So when a woman is sifting through a rack of clothes, somehow that piece of clothing that you had so much fun designing speaks to her she responds to it and buys it. I believe you can actually transfer that energy to material things as you're creating them.

I think people who are attracted to the fashion industry are people who are really insecure and looking for a certain identity.