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.
My family owned a gelateria business, so as a kid, I would always design ice cream cones. If you want to transform a shoe from design into a properly wearable product, however, you need technical knowledge. So I worked for four years inside a local shoe company.
The place where I think social media fails is in showing the knowledge, the tradition of stitching the clothing, of cutting the fabric, of the tannery, of the skinning of the jewels - this knowledge needs respect. Online and social media is the future, but we need to learn from the past, too.
At school I was a disaster, but when I would design, I could feel a sense of pride. I've always designed, and I would literally design everything I'd see: cars, bikes, motorcycles - everything.
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.
To love shoes is to love problems. Every season, starting a new collection is my greatest challenge. The blank slate in front of me, starting the process all over again, there is no greater challenge.