I love the focus and bravery of European designers, but I love the nonchalance and throwaway aspect of America that has made Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein two of the greatest icons. I try to bridge those two worlds in my work. The clothes may be couture on the runway but there's an attitude that's very street and that comes from America.

I don't live through my kids. But I do know what will happen in life, and I just want them well prepared.

I was an art history major, but never specifically contemporary. I would say where I really stopped were the abstract expressionists in the New York school.

I do speak Mandarin, and I also relate to the hunger that China has for culture and architecture and style.

Fashion offers no greater challenge than finding what works for night without looking like you are wearing a costume.

I never thought I'd be successful. It seems in my own mind that in everything I've undertaken I've never quite made the mark. But I've always been able to put disappointments aside. Success isn't about the end result; it's about what you learn along the way.

When you have a passion for something then you tend not only to be better at it, but you work harder at it too.