It was ingrained in me to be gracious.

The easy glamour of the French Riviera in the late 1960s - inspired by Romy Schneider's character in La Piscine - mixed with garden elements. Blueprint, botanical, lattice, Queen Anne's lace and folly prints are paired with cleaner silhouettes and proportions in a fresh palette of green, white and coral.

Sometimes women entrepreneurs are their own challenge, [in terms of] believing in themselves. There is no need to apologise for being ambitious.

I think women do work differently; it's important to have both men and women. They offer different things.

I've been writing an ongoing letter to my children since they were born, full of recollections of their childhoods. I've filled two journals. It's a great thing to do as a mother - you forget a lot as you go along, but reading over what you've written brings all the memories back.

An important lesson: Things that look like an overnight success usually aren't.

I think women have a lack of confidence. They often apologize; I was guilty of that too. When people have said, "Oh, look at your success," I would downplay it.