When you buy a new pair of heels, walk up and down the stairs 10 times. Stairs are the most difficult thing, so if you can do stairs, then you can do everything else.

Trends are dangerous; you will fail if you design for them. You cannot follow the work of others. I have my own DNA, my own formula. I always stay true to myself and to the brand.

Every season, I absorb everything around m:, the people I see on the street, the discos, the art, the music, and the energy of places from my travels. I mix all of this together, and then I begin to create.

A woman can slip on a pair of embellished cage heels one night and a pair of streamlined, lightweight sneakers the next day. The beauty of modern luxury is the absence of rules.

Formal is formal. I can't wear sneakers all the time. Sometimes, I wear other shoes. It's not my challenge designing formal - it's so boring - but it's still important. I sell a lot of classic black sneakers made from every material because everyone loves black, and if you mix and match material, you get an opera.

You know, 65-year-olds love sneakers because they make them feel forty.

The sneaker comes from sports, but it's couture now. It's not made in Asia: it's made in my little village in Italy. I can customize everything. I use silk and diamonds and crystals. I think my sneakers have a lot of good vibrations.

Every time I work with a star, I learn a lot. Also, I teach a lot because I'm a shoemaker, a designer. I'm born with a pencil in my hand. For old teenagers like me it's good to learn.

Beyonce has very clear ideas - she knows exactly what she wants. The thing which she then also has over other celebrities is that she has an amazing voice. She's incredibly talented, and she's an amazing dancer - she's complete. Few are like Beyonce.

Hip hop is the strongest form of protest there is, and it doesn't always have to be a violent protest. It can be romantic, also. When you listen to Kanye West's 'Street Lights' for example, there's romance, there's pain - you feel the essence. I get the same thing from Drake and 2 Chainz.