good at making women look great in dresses. (Take Michelle
Obama, who redefined the sartorial aesthetic of first ladies in
an array of perfectly cut Kors gowns.) “My aim is to make
women feel their best selves,” he says. “She could be 85, she
could be 16; she could be a size 22 or a size four.”
As such, he is irked by the notion that designers should
change their approach when it comes to dressing so-called ‘real
women’. In this regard, he has decades of experience: by the
age of 11, he had opened his first shop in the basement of his
suburban Long Island family home, selling tie-dye T-shirts and
jeans of his own making. At 17, he was working for Lothar’s,
an upmarket Manhattan boutiqueon57thStreet,wherehis
customers included Jackie
Kennedy, Goldie Hawn and
Diana Ross. He rapidly
progressed from being a sales
assistant to in-house designer,
and was then talent-spotted
by Bergdorf Goodman’s
fashion director. In 1981, when Korswas
22, he launched his own womensw
collection. A stint working for LVMHfr
1997 to 2003, when he reinvented Célinew
considerable aplomb, gave him far m
insight into the international market;and
became a household name during histime
a judge on the reality show Project Runw
where he had a unique series of observatio
on the contestants’ designs: “Comme d
Garçons goes to the Amish country”
“Voodoo princess in hell”; “Tight satin?
No human being should wear tight satin!”;
“A legging that Friar Tuck would wear...
Although his career has suffered the occasi
setback — including a serious financialcr
1993 — he has always bounced back.
Nowadays, Kors is a billionaire andho
chairman of Capri Holdings, the grouptha
his namesake label, as well as Jimmy Cho
Versace. At this point, he could easily aff
stop working and devote himself full-time
(already considerable) philanthropic act
But he shows no sign of slowing down.Ind
he is married to his job, in the sense that
husband and long-standing partner, La
LePere, is the creative director of wome
design at Michael Kors. Theirs is a relen
lessly busy schedule of deadlines, travelan
business commitments — “If I thinkabou
the calendar it keeps me awake at night,s
I’ve learnt now not to look and just tryto
be in the moment” — but with hisper-
ma-tan and warm laugh, Kors still man-
ages to project an air of relaxed bonhomie
rather than high-strung stress.
The thinking behind how he maintain
this equilibrium may also provide a cluea
to the continuing appeal of his designs.It’
contained within a piece of advice he saysh
would give to his younger self, whichis “
to be as hard on myself. At 22, 23, I ju
myself up over everything, for not being
enough.” The realisation that there coulbenefit to embracing imperfection came, he says, when he read a
review of one of his collections by Amy Spindler (a former fashion
critic and style editor of The New York Times who died, too young, of
a brain tumour at the age of 40). “Amy was a wonderful writer. After
one of my shows she wrote that ‘It was perfect to a fault’. I really
stewed after that, and then I saw her and she said, ‘It’s OK not to be
perfect! Let the freak flag fly, Michael!’”
All of which might sound unexpected for a man who has become
synonymous with the flawless elegance of his vision, from aspirational
accessories to high fashion and seductive fragrance, showcased within
the graceful surroundings of his international stores. But what gives this
glossystyleitssubstanceis hisunderstanding of human foibles and idi-
osyncrasies. For, in the democratic
world of Michael Kors, everyone
is entitled to wear the dress (or the
coat) of their dreams and in doing
so, feel more optimistic about
whatever lies ahead ...Opposite page: Michael
Kors Collection dress,
$4339, feather boa, $1119,
and bag, $2475. This page:
Michael Kors Collection
dress, $6380, bag, $1745,
and shoes, $1756.ViolaDavis,
amand Blake
aringMichael
ollection.MODEL: NICOLE ATIENO AT STORM MANAGEMENT; HAIR BY LINDA SHALABI AT SEE MANAGEMENT; MAKEUP BY ANITA KEELING AT ONE REPRESENTS; MANICURE BY TINU BELLO AT ONE REPRESENTS; PRODUCTION: SHINY PROJECTS. WITH THANKS TO THE FRANKLIN HOTEL, LONDON, STARHOTELSCOLLEZIONE.COM. GETTY IMAGES. PRICES APPROXIMATE. SEE BUYLINES FOR STOCKISTS
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