Steele explains that Paris's dominance in fashion is a centuries-old cultural and economic construction, reinforced by luxury conglomerates like LVMH and Kering that blend art with commerce. She recounts her own journey from a lesbian-feminist commune to becoming 'the Freud of fashion,' noting academia's persistent dismissal of fashion studies despite popular exhibitions. As chief curator and director of the Museum at FIT, she prefers thematic exhibitions that connect subculture and high fashion, such as those on gothic style or queer history. Steele critiques the accelerated fashion cycle and cultural appropriation, while emphasizing that clothes serve as a second skin for social communication and identity. She concludes that fashion is now recognized as a significant, expressive industry, influenced by the internet and social movements.