Why miniskirts matter

> I came from the class of the wheeler-dealer. Everyone in my family has run their own business. It made me completely useless at working for anyone.

> I got my own flat at 16, after my parents broke up. It was a chance to stand on my own two feet early on. Irish kids tend to stay with their mothers till they get married – it can hold you back a bit.

> My mother and father got engaged two weeks after they met, and married two weeks after that, with everyone freaking out. I certainly didn't learn how to have a healthy relationship from them.

> I work with men all the time. You have to be sexy – men don't relate to unsexy women – but you have to have a wall as well.

> I have a soft spot for 1960s clothes. Those ideals are still relevant now – expression, freedom, miniskirts.

> I love night culture. It's about aspiration. People can be who they'd love to be; bigger and better, more themselves. Obviously, drinking and dressing up help.

> With age, I'm grateful for what I've got, because I've lost things along the way – a band, friends, relationships.

> Walking my jack russell, Charlie, makes me happy. Walking is so fundamental – the same rhythm as your heart, your biochemistry. You can get lost in yourself. That's important.

This article was published in Sunday's style supplement of The Sunday Times.