If my parents had discouraged me, I would have turned out very differently. They raised me in an open-minded, liberal environment.

Students in the '60s were responsible for great changes, politically and socially.

I'm a very serious person.

We have the Terminator as governor, and we had an actor as president, so why shouldn't we have a fashion designer as a senator?

September 11th was a moment when America had the sympathy of the world.

There aren't many strong or charismatic candidates today, because many people can't withstand the scrutiny.

If my parents had discouraged me, I would have turned out very differently. They raised me in an open-minded, liberal environment.

When the youth of America gets together, amazing things happen.

L.A. is my American city.

The U.S. used to be perceived as the moral leader of the world, and we have absolutely lost that.

I think that monogamy is artificial. I do not think it's something that comes naturally to us.

From the time we're born until we die, we're kept busy with artificial stuff that isn't important.

As a fashion designer, I was always aware that I was not an artist, because I was creating something that was made to be sold, marketed, used, and ultimately discarded.

College campuses were once a hotbed of political activity.

Most everyone now personally knows someone who is openly homosexual.

Once upon a time we did not focus on a president's private life.

A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.

Advertising is, of course, important because advertise is the final design. It's the last layer that speaks to the customer, that tells them what you have.

As a designer, design director or any creative person, you have to hire great people, support them and make them feel comfortable so they can contribute and give you their best.

Banking types should take their cue from Gordon Gekko. Or pick the best-looking banker in their firm and copy him.

Beyonce in real life is actually quite quiet and very sweet.

British men are peacocks. You see a lot more style on the streets here than you see anywhere else, on every level.

But as an adult working in the fashion industry, I struggle with materialism. And I'm one of the least materialistic people that exist, because material possessions don't mean much to me. They're beautiful, I enjoy them, they can enhance your life to a certain degree, but they're ultimately not important.

Do you know how rare it is in parts of America to actually see 'an outfit'? France? I don't want to be anti-French, but there isn't a more unattractive group of people on the streets.

Fashion is harder than the film industry. You have to constantly be able to crank out hit after hit after hit on demand and on a very tight calendar. I've come back, I've lost it, I've come back again. It's really as good as your last collection.

Fashion is much more collaborative than one might think. You have to have an idea and vision, and you have to communicate that vision to a team of people, and you have to create an environment that allows those people to give the best that they can give.

I am a perfectionist. This job is a total ego thing in a way. To be a designer and say, 'This is the way they should dress; this is the way their homes should look; this is the way the world should be.' But then, that's the goal: world domination through style.

I am a spiritual person in an eastern religion kind of way. I learned that happiness for all of us is a switch that you flick in your brain. It doesn't have anything to do with getting a new house, a new car, a new girlfriend, or a new pair of shoes. Our culture is very much about that; we are never happy with what we have today.

I am really a loner after all; I am really not a social person. Because of my job, people think I am out every night, but I really hate all that. I am somebody who likes to be alone and see some close friends. I am a shy and introspective person.

I am totally fearless! Well, of course, I'm not totally fearless. I worry constantly and obsess over things, but I just don't let fear stand in the way of doing something that I really want to do.

I believe in living life the way that you want to live it every day, and if you do that, you don't really need to have New Year's resolutions.

I couldn't have cared less about Gucci when I first went there - but soon after I arrived, I cared a lot.

I don't do shows. I don't have reviews. I'm not putting the clothes on every celebrity so that by the time they reach the store the customers are sick of seeing them.

I don't think fashion has to change every five minutes. I'd like these to be clothes you can wear for a long time - ten, 20 years; pass on to your daughter. Why buy vintage when you can open your own closet!

I don't want to find myself designing for the press.

I don't work for money any longer. I'm fortunate enough not to need to work for money, but I work for pride; I work because I love to work, and so the idea that one could lose control of one's own name and that things could be produced with your name on that you were not proud of scared me.

I enjoy the speed of fashion. I love doing different things and I think I still have something valid to say in fashion.

I find a bath meditative and usually prepare myself for the day in this manner.

I grew up in New Mexico, and the older I get, I have less need for contemporary culture and big cities and all the stuff we are bombarded with. I am happier at my ranch in the middle of nowhere watching a bug carry leaves across the grass, listening to silence, riding my horse, and being in open space.

I guess I'm just one of these people who, when I decide I'm going to do something, I just do it.

I hate going out for lunch during a workday because it slows down my pace and ruins my rhythm. I prefer to eat at my desk. Actually, I wander around the design studio with a plate in my hand as I dine on, for example, salmon sashimi and a salad of tomatoes and mozzarella. I often have a bit of dark chocolate after lunch.

I hate tricky facial hair. If your facial hair is too spotty in places, shave. Just forget about it.

I have a driver in London because I am slightly dyslexic and cannot drive in the U.K.; after all, the traffic runs the opposite way to that in the United States.

I just want to make beautiful, glamorous clothes.

I probably do have an obsessive personality, but striving for perfection has served me well.

I think the 1970s will always be the decade for me. Obviously, I grew up in that era, but the beauty standard was touchable, kissable.

I think we're very uptight in America. You have to remember that we're descended from Puritans. Whether or not the country is now composed of immigrants, our culture as American really begins with the landing of the Pilgrims and a puritanical view of things.

I was bullied every day at school because I carried a briefcase. I could have left it at home. But I thought it looked great! I didn't understand why anyone else didn't think so.

I was on the train from London to Paris, and all of a sudden it just popped into my head: I'm going to do the Don Loper fashion show from 'I Love Lucy.'