Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Pre-NYFW ..Inside the head of Michael Kors


In keeping with my pre NYFW series, today is all about one of the torch bearers of American Fashion.
 

Today’s subject found his way to me via a series of serendipitous events which has reminded me of the power of the written word as well that of the internet in our daily lives.

 

That being said, Michael Kors is a ubiquitous presence in our lives whether we open a magazine, watch TV, stroll the toniest shopping streets around the world or amble through any department store.  For those of us who have been around longer than last season, so to speak, Michael can  sort of be summed up as an amalgam of Ralph Lauren, Halston, Zoran, Beene, Norell, Blass, Ellis  and many of Seventh Avenue’s greatest and most memorable designers; in simpler terms he is a result of what made New York a fashion power house. In a way he is extremely old school, and I say that in the most complimentary way and think that so many new designers could use a healthy dose of what was as opposed to the distorted vision they have of what it should be!

 

Where let’s say, Ralph Lauren  sold us the wasp lifestyle, Michael Kors transports the consumer to a time and ideal of a 21st century jet setter lifestyle … slick, chic, soigne and cosmopolitan. He is an all American kind of guy who is a born and bred New Yorker whose legacy will be felt for years to come.

Let’s get inside the mind of Michael Kors!

 
What is the most treasured possession in your wardrobe?

ONE OF THEM IS THE CARTIER TANK WATCH I BOUGHT MYSELF WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. I SPENT ALL THE MONEY I HAD SAVED UP DOING CARICATURES AT SWEET SIXTEENS AND BAT MITZVAHS. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT.  IT CHANGED EVERYTHING I WORE, HOW I FELT ABOUT MYSELF AND HOW OTHER PEOPLE SAW

 What is your most sterling trait and what trait do you treasure most in your friendships?

LOYALTY. LEO’S ARE VERY LOYAL - MANY OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE ARE LEO’S.

What is your bliss?

ICED TEA AND A BEACH

What is your guilty secret?

TABLOID TV

Where is your ideal home?

 ON A PRIVATE ISLAND FILLED WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

If you could not be a designer/retailer/etc.: what would you be

A BROADWAY PRODUCER

What is on your bedside table right now?

DIANA VREELAND MEMOS: THE VOGUE YEARS

What do you wear to bed?

BLACK MICHAEL KORS BRIEFS

What if any, book are you reading now or last read?

A STORY LATELY TOLD BY ANJELICA HUSTON

What’s your advice to the "newcomer?"

STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF AND YOUR VISION.

 Who or what is your inspiration/style icon?

MY PERSONAL STYLE ICON IS STEVE MCQUEEN. MY DESIGN STYLE ICON IS A MIX OF EVERYONE FROM JACKIE O. TO LAUREN HUTTON TO MY MOTHER.

What is the best advice you ever received?

STAY TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE - PEOPLE WON’T TRUST YOU IF YOU AREN’T AUTHENTIC.

In 3 words or less, describe the current state of fashion.

 DEMOCRATIC AND FAST  

If you won a $200,000,000 power ball (lottery), what is the first thing you would buy or do?

I’D DONATE IT TO WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME OR GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER  

 If you could invite up to 4 people for dinner, who would they be…dead or alive?

  JACKIE ONASSIS, ANDY WARHOL, LUCILLE BALL AND MADONNA - ALL LEO’S!

What is your favorite movie /or movie star?

 I COULD WATCH FUNNY FACE WITH AUDREY HEPBURN A MILLION TIMES.

 Whose opinion do you value most and why?

  MY CUSTOMERS, BECAUSE THEIRS IS THE ONE THAT MATTERS MOST.

 What store or which designer do you most like to shop in or wear?

  I MOSTLY SHOP WHEN I TRAVEL; I LOVE THINGS THAT HAVE A STORY.  

What’s your take on magazines, books versus the internet?

PRINT ALL THE WAY.

  Do you have a dream collaborator?

  I WOULD’VE LOVED TO WORK WITH HALSTON.

 What is your crowning achievement thus far in your career?

I’VE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE. EVERY AWARD IS UNIQUE IN ITS OWN WAY, FROM BEING AN INFLUENCER ON THE TIME 100 LIST TO RECEIVING THE GOLDEN HEART AWARD FROM GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER. THEY ALL MEAN SOMETHING TO ME.

What’s your music library like?

IT’S GOT A HUGE RANGE. EVERYONE FROM COLDPLAY TO CHER TO FRANK SINATRA.

What and where is your favorite meal?

A CHEESEBURGER FROM JG MELON

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