I would tell any aspiring designer to take the time to experience everything they can to really get a feel for what direction they want to go in. And most importantly, let your passion and your gut lead you.
There is undoubtedly a lot of pressure that comes with recognition, which can be a good thing and bad thing all at the same time. But if you stay focused and don't lose sight of what you're doing and who you are, you can rise above it.
I came from Bill Blass, where it was a well-oiled machine and if I said I needed a fabric, it was done. Now, I have to budget everything. I have to take on the role not just as a designer but a business. But I'm a glass half-full kind of guy.
I tweet myself and do all the Facebook updates. It started off with me wondering whether I was showing off and I was very careful about what I wrote.
I love draping; it's less about proportion than fit and the fabric. It's very specialized and I think when women see the construction, they respond to it immediately.
I decided if it was going to be a mistake to come to New York and try and make a career in fashion, then it was going to be my mistake... But the American dream is real. I'm living it.
There's such a feeling of satisfaction when something you imagined turned into something real.
Fashion has always had the ability to affect lives, to touch people. But for the longest period of time, we've said, 'Oh, we're just pages of a magazine; that's what we all look at.' It's more than that.
I really feel blessed that I'm able to do what I love and make a living at it and have people come and see it. I mean, what an incredibly blessed life!
You want to question what is important and why is it important. I don't have all the answers, but I'm very curious to know and learn.
I was definitely considered different growing up. I learned that being me was all right because my family celebrated those differences.
A lot of people have an opinion. If you listen to them too much, your work will get influenced, and you make no one happy.
I came here because I wanted to live the American dream that I had heard of. And I'm a perfect example. I came to New York; I knew no one. I've made a career, a life, so I still believe in that.
I grew up with a single mother who brought us up. I always look back at my career, and everything that has happened to me is because of the support of women. My mother, my sister, Michelle Obama, Kate Middleton - all these women have believed in my designs and worn them and given me a platform to increase my visibility.
Fashion has a huge responsibility - in what we show on the runway, what we do in editorial, who we dress - to make sure it represents differences. If we don't, we're giving in to the discrimination.
All designers have a platform, an audience. Whether it's one or a million, it doesn't matter.
As someone who started a company with an idea of creating a luxury brand with a soul, I needed to learn more about how I effect change.
I've always found it interesting when I look at a woman, and she's beautiful and everything, but there's an inner strength.
For my first big Fashion Week event, the factory wouldn't give me my clothes because I didn't have the $25,000 it cost to make them.
I've always been interested in a femininity with a bite. I always think a little bit of a kick is great.
