“AIDS is an absolutely tragic disease. The argument about AIDS' being some kind of divine retribution is crap.”

“Anyone who is secure about herself shouldn't be threatened by the ads I do.”

“Commercials capture your attention, that's all.”

“I certainly feel that an adult woman has a right to determine what happens to her life and body.”

“I couldn't have attended half the parties that I was supposed to have been to according to the newspapers. It bothers me.”

“I don't always want my opinion known. What little privacy I have left I'd like to maintain.”

“I don't dwell on success. Maybe that's one reason I'm successful.”

“I don't think about my fame very much.”

“I don't trust a lot of journalists.”

“I guess I don't have a proper perspective on my fame; if I did, I don't think I'd like it.”

“I have the New York Daily News to thank for the jeans controversy.”

“I have the reputation of being easygoing. But inside, I'm like nails. I will kill.”

“I love Brooke. Exploiting her was never my intention.”

“I love women. I'm trying to do beautiful things with them. I'm not trying to insult them. My life is not about that.”

“I personally would not have plastic surgery. What the hell for? It looks ridiculous.”

“I still drink vodka; I'm not an advocate of drinking, but I'm no angel. I don't like grass, because it just makes me hungry.”

“I think there's something incredibly sexy about a woman wearing her boyfriend's T-shirt and underwear.”

“I won't allow myself to have tremendous fear.”

“If I allow journalists to describe a collection and they make mistakes, I'm upset, because the retractions are never noticed.”

“If you really love someone and care about him, you can survive many difficulties.”

“I'm a sexual person, and that's reflected in my clothes and my advertisements.”

“I'm crazy, and I don't pretend to be anything else.”

“I'm in a business where no one cares about anything except how well your last collection sold.”

“I'm more offended when someone's killed on television than when there's something that's sensuous or sexual. So what?”

“I'm neither Democrat nor Republican.”

“I'm not a politician and don't want any part of politics.”

“I'm not trying to be Mr. Universe, but I want to stay in shape.”

“It seems there's always another rumor about my life; some people are simply talked about more than others.”

“It's fun seeing my label on someone's behind - I like that.”

“I've been strong and determined all my life about many things I've wanted.”

“I've met people who didn't even know there was a Calvin Klein; they thought it was just the name of a product.”

“Levi's can produce many more Western jeans than we can and make them at a better price.”

“My men's-underwear print ads are very popular!”

“My wardrobe consists of antique clothes, many of my designs, plus shoes and shirts from Brooks Brothers and Paul Stuart.”

“No 27-year-old has the experience to run a company that does a quarter of a billion dollars a year in sales.”

“Nothing earth-shattering has happened in men's fashion. How much can you do with men's clothes?”

“People have told me about organized crime in the fashion industry, but I can't talk about that. I'm looking to stay alive.”

“People read things into my commercials that don't even exist.”

“People who run a ready-to-wear company are businessmen rather than production or design people.”

“Some people feel that what we're doing makes no sense, that it's just a waste of money. But it's working.”

“The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural.”

“The only way to advertise is by not focusing on the product.”

“There are a lot of gay people in fashion, but it's not as if every gay person is a great creator.”

“There has been a change in men's attitudes toward their clothes. Men are more aware of fashion; they're not afraid of it.”

“There's an awareness of fashion in this country, and it's not limited to gay people.”

“Traditionally, the sample is always better than the stock you deliver to the store.”

“We were using Brooke as an actress; she was playing different roles: a liberated woman, a teenager, a vamp.”

“We're not doing outrageous fashion; I make sports clothes that are relatively conservative, clothes that everyone wears.”

“What we're doing is fun - if you have any sense of humor at all!”

“When I get into bed at night, I hope I don't get into it alone!”

“When I started the business, I hardly went home. I became very driven about work and about my career.”

“You don't only worry about the people who hate or resent you; in a way, you're more worried about the people who love you.”