A disarming, unpretentious woman, Moroso chattering about this Parisian showroom or that trip to India or how this is her first ever visit to San Francisco. Dressed in a colorful top, loose pants and flat shoes, with short burgundy hair and chunky glasses, she looked like any Italian mother and seemed at greater ease than the bubble skirted, pastel tied and perilously high heeled in attendance. We spoke after things quieted down and I found her pleasant, personable, and happy to chat.

What’s new from Moroso that’s got you excited?
Many things are exciting for me, of course, but the My Beautiful Backside (below) collection to me feels very new and very strong. We also have the new Bohemian (bottom) collection from Patricia Urquiola which is very different from what she’s done with us in the past. Probably my favorite, if I had to choose one, is the Backside collection by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien.

You spoke a lot about Nipa Doshi and Patricia Urquiola—a designer whose fame has been strongly tied to you and Moroso—in your presentation. How important is it for you to cultivate relationships with women designers?

Women haven’t had a strong presence in design for very long, and I love working with them. Patricia was still a student when I first met her and she’s one of the first really successful woman designers. She’s a wonderful example of what women can do. I love Nipa and I’ve started working with four girls from Sweden called Front. They’re great and I’m really excited that we’re collaborating.

What are you listening to these days?
Oh when I was younger I used to know all the music, but now much much less. I’m not 20. I especially love music with a black soul. So for me it’s jazz and what has come out of jazz. I love soul, funky, hip-hop, rap. Anything with a rhythm. Of course, I like Mozart too, it’s very beautiful, but that’s what gets my soul first.

And fashion-wise?
Me, I’m not a fashion victim, but I do love Japanese clothes. I’d say that Miyake, Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons are the most interesting designers. In Japan, fashion is an art, dressing is an art. It’s not like in Italy.

What do you want to do that you’re not doing now?
Travel again. I love to travel and hope to do it again. I did it a lot when I was younger. One idea is to cross the US in a camper or an RV. I have three kids and Patricia Urquiola has two and we thought that we should get two campers and drive across. We have other friends with no kids so they’ll use a motorcycle. We’ll have a little Italian caravan heading across the States.