Michael Kors AW21: Celebrating 40 Years in Fashion.
Celebrating four decades in fashion is essentially celebrating four decades in survival mode. The fashion industry is far from being fair and navigating it can lead unsuspecting souls towards treacherous terrain.
But Michael Kors, the man, is evidently a survivor. Kors’s fashion story began when Dawn Mello, Bergdorf’s iconic fashion director, noticed his work in the windows of a Manhattan boutique, where he worked after dropping out of the Fashion Institute of Technology. Launching in 1981, Michael Kors, the brand, vowed to establish a new way of American dressing. The luxurious ready-to-wear and sportswear picked up where Roy Halston Frowick left off, and for decades, Michael Kors slowly made name for himself. In 1997, the designer from Merrick, New York, landed in Paris to take over Celine, the LVMH-owned luxury label launched in 1945 by Céline Vipiana. He insufflated new life into a name that didn’t create waves at the time. Since then, Kors left LVMH - scorned some will say - to focus on his business, and today, the company - renamed Capri Holdings in 2019 - boasts yearly revenues in the billions and acquired Versace and Jimmy Choo en passant. This is the epitome of the American dream.
The 63-look collection is a treat for those who can appreciate Kors’s signature refined and timeless style. It’s made for women – not girls – who seek clothes that act as a sort of sartorial master key. They’re wardrobe essentials, not basics. What’s to take from it? Everything from tailoring so sharp it slices, to seductive daywear, and glamorous eveningwear as a clin d’oeil to American designer Norman Norell. Big cocooning coats in shearling and faux furs added much panache to the proposition – you just know that woman does not have time to give you time in the street. Kors sent out a series of pinstripes outfits that will make Wall Street CEOs double take, particularly one dazzling tailored jumpsuit. Whether one fancies showing their legs in a short black tuxedo dress or turning out in floor-sweeping scintillating gowns, Michael Kors made sure to please all women.
And, the casting! Many of the fashion world’s favourite runway stars showed up, including Liya Kebede, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Carolyn Murphy, Alek Wek, and Shalom Harlow to name a few. They walked alongside a cast of young models, all showcasing diversity in skin colours and sizes. The native New Yorker staged this muscle flexing digital show around Broadway, the heart of American theatre industry, and invited Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Rufus Wainwright to perform. Michael Kors took this opportunity to raise money for the Actors Fund, a US-based organisation supporting performers and behind-the-scenes workers.
So, yes, Michael Kors is a survivor. He presented a collection celebrating 40 years in fashion, a hallmark often synonymous with a designer entering the last stage of their creative life. Indeed, it can suggest a moment in time when clothes don’t match the zeitgeist and become about legacy. But this collection is not necessarily meant to be overly commemorative or to make you think in retrospect. It consolidates Kors’s vision, one that is both effortless and sophisticated.
