I’m not the only one; most people’s mothers are the most influential person in their life. But my mother survived the camps, and she was very strong. She made me strong, but she wanted me to be strong. That’s more important.
I’ve always been inspired by women, and my mission was to inspire women. I always wanted to become a certain kind of woman, and I became that woman through fashion. It was a dialogue. I would see that the wrap dress made those women confident, and made them act with confidence.
I’ve always liked wrinkles. When I was a young girl, I used to make lines on my face with my nails because I loved Jeanne Moreau. I always wanted to be older; I always added years to my life. For the longest time, if people thought I was older, I would take it as a compliment.
The most important thing is to be healthy, to drink a lot of water, to fight gravity as much as possible. I am one of the few people who decided I wasn’t going to do any invasion with my face.
There are emerging countries. I mean, there are countries, you know, China, India, and Brazil, and all of these countries that are emerging. They are building homes. They are building – so there is a new lifestyle.
If you are trying to slip out without waking a sleeping man, zips are a nightmare. Haven’t you ever tried to creep out of the room unnoticed the following morning? I’ve done that many times.
Fashion can be this mysterious thing that you can’t explain.
I design for the woman I wanted to be, the woman I used to be and to some degree, the woman I’m still a little piece of.
What I think I sell with my clothes is confidence, so hopefully all my dresses, my accessories, are friends to the women. When you open the closet, and your eyes are swollen, and you don’t like the way you look, you go to your friends.
I really have fun making up. I have a good face for making up, good bones. I do the shapings, then the eyes. Then I put on mascara and I do something else. Then I put on mascara again and do something else. Then I put on more mascara and my whole face is completely made up.
The more independent you want to be, the more generous you must be with yourself as a woman.
You can learn a lot from my mistakes more than my success.
It’s very often true that some women look better without makeup, but that’s only during the day.
If you pay attention, everyone is a novel. The most boring person, if you sit down and really listen, is someone interesting.
The best-dressed man is an Italian who is trying to look English, or an Englishman who is trying to look Italian.
The iPad! What is better designed than that? I read magazines on it, I play Scrabble. I use it for everything.
Bali and the Aman resorts are all very luxurious, great places to go.
I am a traveler. I am a nomad. I rarely sleep in the same bed more than three or four nights. And I know hotel life better than anyone.
I am almost a vegetarian, and I meditate, do yoga and love to hike.
I communicate mostly via e-mail and receive hundreds of e-mails a day.