I started making my own shirts and pants in Mexico when I was 7 years old.
Then I learned how to make coats and dresses and stuff like that.
I learned shoemaking, boot making.
So I have never bought anything from any store ever since.
I saw the equestrian units with their flamboyant embroidery and sequins and asked, Who does this elegant stuff?
Fashion is what hangs on a rack …
But whats in your closet, thats your style.
One day she introduced me to film costume designer Edith Head.
So then I started doing movies.
I dressed James Dean inGiant.I also created the look for Clint Eastwood in those spaghetti westerns.
He was supposed to be a man from nowhere.
What do you do with him?
Hes not a cowboy from Texas; hes not a rancher from Colorado.
I put him in a poncho made from an American Indian blanket.
I dressed James Arness onGunsmokefor 11 years, didBonanzafor 14 years,The Big Valleyfor four years.
So many people from all over the world.
Eventually, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee, because of the lifestyle here.
I still dress people from everywhere, but they come to Nashville for my designs.
What I do more than anything is get into someones personality.
I get to know how people talk, how they walk, how they express themselves.
My artwork that goes on their body is what I feel.
Johnny Cash was my friend for many years.
I dressed him in black because I knew his personality.
He had experienced lessons in life that gave him qualities of the man in black.
Dwight Yoakam has thin legs, so I enhanced that.
I put him in snug leather jeans and short, spangled jackets.
Its about creating an image.
When you see the shadow of that guy in black, you know its Johnny Cash.
No eyes, no anything you just know.
Fashion is what hangs on a rack: brand new, secondhand, antique, whatever.
But whats in your closet, thats your style.
Style is what reflects who you are.
And style is timeless, but I would be foolish if I didnt accept whats new.
Thats what Im doing every day of my life: new stuff.
Every single day of my life, I design.
Every night, I dream up new outfits.
I dont share the names of many of my newer clients.
I love them all and want them to be successful.
I see them out there in the galaxy of stars.
And everybody seems to be very happy in their own garb.
Theyre so different from one another.
Thats what style is, dont you think?
