I brought a lot of the codification of womenswear to menswear. Why? Because when I was a child, I was wearing women's clothes adjusted to me. Riccardo Tisci More Quotes by Riccardo Tisci More Quotes From Riccardo Tisci People's wardrobes in history are something that society and culture imposed. But sexuality is not about the way you dress. Riccardo Tisci culture people way My mom didn't teach me about Marco Polo. She didn't teach me about Napoleon. She didn't teach me about any of that. But she did teach me how to survive and to be a good person. And you need to be a strong woman to do that. She's the biggest person in my life. She's my Virgin Maria. That's why I love religion so much. Riccardo Tisci strong-women mom needs I've always been obsessed with things that are half animal and half human - like mermaids and Minotaurs - because they are trapped in an animal body. And I felt trapped in my own life. Riccardo Tisci mermaid half animal No matter how much people in fashion think we're so cool and avant-garde, for most fashion people, creativity is quite taboo. Riccardo Tisci creativity fashion thinking I can give a beautiful present, and that may change the lives of people around me. Riccardo Tisci beautiful giving people I tried to never exclude people. I know what it means to be left out. Riccardo Tisci left mean people I didn't want to dress anyone in the beginning, no celebrities. Then, very slowly I started with one, two, like that. There are some celebrities whom we dress because they are part of the family. They are women I admire. I don't care how famous she is, if she is at the movies or in a concert. Riccardo Tisci admire care I am very happy at Givenchy and it is a moment in which I am bringing the game to the next level. I feel at home. It's as if it were my son. I don't know how to explain it. It would be very difficult for me to leave. Riccardo Tisci moments home son We are Italian. We are all little tribes - not only in fashion, but also in music - in everything, basically. Riccardo Tisci fashion italian With couture you have faithfulness - people are faithful to you. In couture, you will see that the cut looks like a lace dress from a distance, but it's only when you get nearer you understand that it's layers of lace, hand stitched in a certain shape, all the work - the zips, the buttons, the hooks... it goes on. Riccardo Tisci distance cutting hands I remember that my sisters gave me this beautiful, like, empty book for Christmas. And I would draw all these beautiful women. Most of the time it was mermaids and a Minotaur: half human, half animal. I used to be obsessed with Minotaurs when I was a child. Riccardo Tisci beautiful book children I listen to certain opinions because those are important to me. I am a Leo, so I very much have my feet on the ground, and I know what I want, but there is also a side of me which is a little softer, still a little bit of a boy who has not grown up and who listens a lot. Riccardo Tisci opinion important boys I've got what I want, and I've got the luck to express myself and to be paid and to do what I do as a creative person. Riccardo Tisci luck creative want Couture is more your own world, they come and buy head-to-toe - they buy the jewelry, bags, coats, dresses, bodies underneath.... But couture is not dead - it's taken another shape. Riccardo Tisci bags taken dresses Couture was only for rich people. Givenchy was for rich people. A bag cost 5,000 euro; a coat cost 10,000 euro. In the beginning, I couldn't react. I was just working like a machine, because I wanted to make the house happy. Riccardo Tisci bags house people I love finding new things. I love the conceptual aspect of Antony Hegarty or the voices of those back in the day like Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Ciara. I love what evokes emotion in me. Riccardo Tisci emotion My obsession when I was kid, from '85 into the '90s, was Gianni Versace. It was Helmut Lang. It was Margiela. So I said, "I cannot have Givenchy only as a luxury house; I'm going to introduce products for everybody, things that are reachable." Riccardo Tisci luxury house kids I think my heart is in a very good place. And I think this is why I'm achieving what I've been asking to do in the universe for so long. Riccardo Tisci heart long thinking I didn't invent hot water. But when I approach menswear, I do it in a very honest way. And my menswear and womenswear are very similar, in the sense that I put men in leggings and lace shirts. Riccardo Tisci lace water men I am very attracted to the United States. Why? Well, as a little kid from Southern Italy, not from a wealthy family, it was always my dream to go to the Big Apple. I'm not one to listen to classical music. I am very much for what is American, but I also prefer the America of the ghetto. I love the Bronx. I love hip-hop and R&B. I love electro-Latino, Latin music, that whole realm. Riccardo Tisci latin dream kids