"It wasn’t possible my first few seasons. Obviously, if Oprah called and needed something, you’ll figure it out — even if we are scraping to pay for it, we make it happen. I’ve built into my business that whatever we do in terms of PR, we always make the exception to make it work [financially] if it’s going to be a big moment. I remember I made some things for Whoopi Goldberg for the Tony Awards [in 2008 ]: It was one of my first projects, but Whoopi paid for some of it, so that helped. That happens, too — sometimes an actress or a stylist would be like, 'We have a little budget.' But it’s a challenge. Not every brand can make something custom all the time.""Brands use marketing dollars to pay for ads; dressing an actress for red carpet is very similar. I never think of it as 'getting free clothes.' It’s a trade. Actresses know that in this world, a great dress at the Emmys could be a great moment for that designer in sales. That’s the balance. I feel like I’m sometimes getting the better end of the deal: Usually they send the dress back, and I still get all the marketing."The challenge is figuring out what works. When we dress some people, it results in sales; others are just great publicity; and sometimes, it's both. It also is about brand recognition, because if everybody is running photos of this [celebrity], it’s just more eyes on the brand. That’s the whole point of this industry: If you don’t see people wearing the clothes, how do you know they exist? We’ve had a lot of red carpet moments, but that isn’t the be all, end all. If someone doesn’t wear something, we’re still running a great business; people are still buying the clothes. Some designers have dressed thousands of people, but are really struggling. You can dress Gwyneth Paltrow all the time, but if people aren’t buying that dress [you've designed for her], it doesn't matter.""Leslie and a lot of actresses think about it like a trade. Maybe she reached out to a few brands, and they all said, ‘We don’t have your size. We can’t send them to you,' and none offered up the custom option. I think that’s probably what happened, but I don't know... I’m sure her stylist was reaching out to people weeks and months before, once they finally got the premiere date, but it takes time. And some designers just don’t have larger sizes, and they literally don't have time to re-cut them."