“When I sit down and design, it's shoes that always appear.”

“Whenever I went to a wedding or a party, girls kept complaining about their shoes. I love to dance, and I wanted them to have shoes they could keep on all night.”

“Sometimes you design a shoe, and you think this one is a winner, but you never know when something will be such a crazy phenomenon.”

“Being inspired is one thing, but completely knocking off a design is another. There is a big difference.”

“When I sit down and design, it's shoes that always appear.”

“I design flats like I design heels: They must be seductive, beautiful and comfortable.”

“I got a New York designer to build my dream store here, which is a little bit of Florence in New York. It's like the Duomo on Madison. I got inspired by Santa Maria Novella and all the Renaissance architecture.”

“Up until the 1960s, women would meet designers in their private ateliers, and together they would build a relationship and a wardrobe. Then, all of a sudden, designers disappeared into their own private bubble, and there was no communication.”