Stella McCartney

Sustainability goes across everything I do with Adidas and everything I do with my own house, so the Olympic kit is no exception. It is incredibly environmental in the way that it is manufactured. For example, there's no leather; it's free from PVC. There's lots of woven materials, which means a lot less waste.

I'm incredibly sad that my mother's not here to see my kids and that my kids don't get to know her. And she didn't meet my husband. That's one of the hardest things. I don't even know how to put that into words.

Very early, I thought I would go into music, but I was aware that it would bring a set of obstacles I didn't find particularly attractive. Also, I'm not a great performer! For a while, I thought I would do something in landscape gardening. But it was always fashion for me.

I think the fact that my parents weren't conventional - especially considering their position - had a big influence on the way that I conduct myself now in design and business. It had a huge impact on my wanting to do something a bit more than just designing a pretty dress and putting it on a runway and making it glamorous.

My job at the end of the day is to design timeless, desirable, beautiful products. It's not about just designing a bunch of organic jumpers. I have a balance within the brand. If you try to create something people enjoy, and it happens to be made in a responsible way, then that's when you can really strike an incredible balance.

My job is to make desirable, luxurious, beautiful clothing and accessories women want to buy. My first decision is always based on, 'Can I do this in a more sustainable way without sacrificing design?' If I can, then there is no reason not to.

As a British fashion designer, it is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be creative director of Team GB as the hosting nation of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

I literally have meetings at eight o'clock in the morning, and I finish at nine o'clock at night. It sounds pathetic, but I don't even have time to go shopping.

I am a fashion designer. I'm not an environmentalist. When I get up in the morning, number one I'm a mother and a wife, and number two I design clothes. So the main thing I need to do is create, hopefully, exquisitely beautiful, desirable objects for my customer.

There's no excuse for fur in this day and age.

Strength on its own in a woman is quite abrasive and not terribly attractive all the time.

My mum had a massive influence on me, not just in what she wore and how she looked, but in her spirit. She was married to one of the most famous men in the world, and she didn't wear any makeup, ever. I mean, have you ever seen the wife of a man like that rock up with no makeup on? Because I haven't since.

It wasn't easy navigating publicity when I started, because I grew up with 'being famous,' and I'm just not into it, and I guess defensiveness gets read into that. And I didn't get an easy ride at the beginning.

I ride my bike, I work out, I do a bit of, er, dancey things.

I've got my organic veg patch and fruit; we're very garden-obsessed, my husband and I. He designed a garden for me for Christmas, so beautiful! Alasdhair's very good at the proportion and ground work, and I come in and do the planting and the color scheme.

When I first started designing sportswear, I felt that women weren't represented in sports performance. I felt that men were dressed really well both technically and visually, and women were almost like an afterthought.

What you wear in the evening is important for women because it's so personal, and it's so complicated to get it right. I like trousers for evening, especially when they have that width and attitude to them.