MODERN DRESSING

1. LOVE FASHION

"I like creative women who play around with clothes, and love clothes.  Women who don't like clothes, I have nothing against, but they're not for me."

2. CHANGE IS GOOD

"Yes, fashion is about change and if there's one place where you should not be frightened by change, it's fashion.  I'm easily bored, so I was made for it."

3. DON'T BE A VICTIM

"You can be sweet and nice, but don't be weak. Otherwise you become a stupid victim.  I prefer toughness to girlieness. The Fendi woman is strong and modern, she is not romantic."

4. CLOTHES ARE FOR WEARING

"In the past, couturiers were not working for museums, they were working for the client and they were proud of that. Their dream was that society ladies would wear their dresses and this is exactly how it should be. Clothes are what people are suppose to wear, and it is up to me to propose things that mean women want to wear. And there's nothing bad about that."

5. GOOD STYLE IS EASIER TO ACHIEVE

"Women are better dressed now than they were 30 years ago, because you can be well dressed for little money now - there is a big choice of interesting things."

6. DON'T LOOK AT THE PAST

"For me, each season is always a new start. I start with a white page and the next step comes from there, not from some old dresses.  There can be influences from the past but they are not done on purpose. I have a good archive in my head if I want - for everything, not only for my own stuff. I am in a job where you need to look ahead. I am interested in the next step, how a woman wears the clothes and how she interprets them."

Excerpt from Porter Magazine, Fall Quarterly.