I came to the big city and I started to get involved in the punk scene and stuff, and I wanted to sort of brand myself. I made a pretty conscious effort to be a different type of person.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was into punk rock back when I was in high school. I used to go around to dive venues and take photographs. But now it's been just much more about the country stuff and soulful folk.
I was a little self-centered gutter punk in the early 1980s and all I wanted to do was diss everybody.
New York had a big influence on me growing up, and I was really part of the club scene - the Mudd Club and Studio 54. When you're living in New York, you are just bombarded with style, trying to figure out how to be cool and how to feel relaxed at the same time.
I always had an interest in fashion because my mom is a celebrity fashion stylist. I grew up being on set or in showrooms.
I was really into punk. I was 11 years old; I had a blue mohican.
In the early days, myself and my friends were into punk because we had no money, just very basic instruments and skills. It was more about the ethos and the energy.
I wanted to be in a punk band before I had even heard any punk music.
I was a punk rocker. A full-bore, 1st-generation punk.
I didn't consider myself a fashion designer at all at the time of punk. I was just using fashion as a way to express my resistance and to be rebellious. I came from the country, and by the time I got to London, I considered myself to be very stupid. It was my ambition to understand the world I live in.
I never wanted to be part of any scene, I never wanted to be a part of anything, I wanted to do my own thing. Those are the lessons I learned from punk rock.