has helped provide school meals to 18.3 million children in 60
countries, with each sale of a Michael Kors x Watch Hunger Stop
tee providing 100 meals.
And then there’s God’s Love We Deliver, a non-profit food
delivery service for those living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other
serious illnesses, of which Kors has been a long-time patron.
In 2012, Kors pledged around $7 million to help refresh the
charity’s SoHo headquarters (it was renamed
the Michael Kors Building when it opened in
2015). Last year, Kors chaired its 12th annual
benefit gala in New York City, with Naomi
Watts, Iman, Hugh Jackman and Bette Midler
among the attendees. Thanks in large part to
Kors’ support, the charity now raises enough
money per year to provide almost two million
meals annually.
It would be tired and hackneyed to say
this “restores our faith in humanity”, but it does
remind us to reconsider our relationship with
style. Fashion exists for a variety of reasons, but
in the era of Trump, #MeToo, global warming, cyber security
and an endless barrage of bad news and airbrushed selfies,
fashion’s most visceral, basic function – as a joymaker – is the
one we are continually finding ourselves
that’s buying an OTT statement shoe you’
heels in love with; or giving away those pa
lose weight to fit into; or, like Macpherson,
with thongs. Use fashion as a mood enha
starter a day maker and a conduit for fun. A
things that make us ha
y Who doesn’t want towho understood that she actually could be all-American, and
that all-American didn’t only mean blonde hair and blue eyes.
So I’ve always thought that way, but I don’t know if we ever
thought about diversity of age or diversity of size. If you look at
the girls we have in the show, we have a Chinese model who is
teeny tiny, and 10 years ago everyone would have said, ‘She’s
too short.’ Or you look at Ashley, and she’s conquered the world
as a curve model and by being herself. Then you have Karen
Elson, who recently said to me, ‘I’ve known you since I was 18
years and now I’m nearly 40!’ I’ve known Carolyn Murphy for
25 years and she’s still working and beautiful. I think we all have
to get over ageism, sizeism and anything that
closes our eyes off to the world at large.”
Diversity aside, Kors’ assessment of his own
success always comes back to his steadfast
belief that optimism sells.
“I’m not a politician and I’m not a scientist, but I
do hope that I can make people, when they wear
something that I’ve designed, feel stronger, more
confident and more like their best self,” he says.
”I think it’s the fashion industry’s responsibility.”
But that isn’t to say that Kors’ only contribution
to the world is limited to the sartorial realm. He
hopes to eradicate global hunger by 2030 –
and, incredibly, is on track to do so – with his Watch Hunger Stop
initiative, which partners with the UN to deliver food to hunger-
stricken children. “We have such a complicated planet and when
we’re thinking about the environment and about sustainability
there’s a tendency to think, ‘Okay, we’re just individuals, how
do we make a difference?’ But hunger is solvable. There is
enough food to feed people who are in need.” Working with the
U d N W ld F d P mme, Watch Hunger Stop
1
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tells us to embrace
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“We have to
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get behind that?get behind that?E149
FASHION PROFILE