In the end, it’s not about failure, it’s about how much you love what you do.

I am not the sort of woman who would wear high heels with a bathing suit. Let's get that straight right now.

The key is falling in love with something, anything. If your heart's attached to it, then your mind will be attached to it.

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.

Service is a prerequisite for anything relating to luxury. That makes it (shopping) sensual and pleasurable.

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 think there's going to be a real push in the next two years in Asia - China and Korea specifically. And that's a huge undertaking. Ten years ago it was impossible to break into that part of the world. Some of the biggest companies in the world found it challenging. But I am Chinese-American and I think what we do will resonate in China. So that's where we see our biggest opportunities going forward. I do speak Mandarin and I also relate to the hunger that China has for culture and architecture and style.