If you have beautiful knees, show your knees. I'm not a puritan. I love skin.
I came to New York when I was 21, 22. I couldn't speak English. I knew I wanted to go to fashion school.
I drape a lot. I cut. I have to touch. For me, it's almost impossible to start without that.
I wasn't a club kid. I wasn't an artist. I was just a foreigner, trying to soak it all up. I had quite a lot of fun.
I cannot live without art: it excites me, it challenges me, and it leads me to the next thing.
I do go back to Brazil once a year. I miss my family.
My love of fashion stemmed from my mother's passion for it.
I didn't know who Calvin Klein was, really. But Brooke Shields, we knew her from those incredible commercials - "There's nothing between me and my Calvins." I knew very little about American fashion then. I had no money, and Charivari was very educational to me. And Parachute. I was fascinated by those stores. I couldn't buy anything; I just went through the clothes.
I’ve reached a certain age where I love to work. I could just live here [at the studio].
My mom. She was quite a character. Open-minded. It was a very small town, and she started her own business, manufacturing children's wear. She was very dynamic. Her death was like the umbilical cord being cut. That's when I moved to America.
I like cold. I really like to go to cold towns. I love gray. I love winter.
It's so hard to actually find that niche for yourself. It's like when Nicolas Ghesquiére found Balenciaga. I hate to sound esoteric, but there is something about a house that leads you to that one chair, that one corner, where you just sit and feel comfortable. I feel very comfortable at Calvin Klein. My name is associated with it enough, and we have a fantastic team here.
You think of luxury when you think of Calvin Klein. He created this lifestyle that's really desirable, so our whole project has that quality of being lasting.
I only do what I do. For me, it is a craft. It's got to be my own thing - otherwise, I would never be successful. I could easily go to the archives and pull 1987 or 1991 collection by Calvin Klein. But when you look in there, you realize that it was never about one piece. It was about the collections as bodies of work.
I don't love reading so much, but I love book shopping. It's just because I don't have much time.
