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“In summer,” said Michael Kors, “you can never have enough white.”
The designer held true to his statement for his spring/summer 2015 collection, shown at New York fashion week on Wednesday.
The first three looks were white – and just the thing for a spring day, especially with the light streaming in from outside on a late summer’s day in Manhattan. Kors’ strength is his ability to rework American classics. Here he did that with a 50 twist – citing Diana Vreeland, dancer Agnes de Mille and photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe as inspirations. They were working women who needed clothes that looked fabulous but suited active and busy lifestyles, and it’s a set of demands that chime with their counterparts today. Accordingly, there were no heels in this show, and models strode down the catwalk with their hands in deep pockets.
Kors is no fantasist; he is commercially successful precisely because he consistently walks the line between fashion that is well-designed but also friendly to real life. The clothes here were a relaxed take on the decade in focus: full-skirted dresses were cut simply, in linen, cotton and taffeta, with rose prints, gingham and tartan dominating; navy blue pajamas printed with flowers and worn with a cardigan shrugged across shoulders looked great. While some embroidery and beadwork added preciousness, Breton striped knitwear and sailor-style jeans brought a Hamptons holiday feel.
This wasn’t recreating the 50s – it was reassessing the decade, in real terms, for women right now. Kors has a polished, uptown customer who will no doubt buy into pieces like the floral printed skirts and cropped jackets, along with the navy blazers and shirting. With a growing profile, though, he sees an opportunity to go further. This collection was notable for including cashmere jumpers, bikinis and three-quarter length coats, a nod to markets where it can be cold in the summer months and the fact that these collections appear in stores in February.
The simple dress shapes, meanwhile, were Kors’ campaign to change what Hollywood wears. “We’re providing other options for evening,” he said. “I’m sick of seeing stars on the red carpet in a long gown with a train. A full dress with a pair of flats looks much more modern.” This was proven in the eveningwear looks of the show. A black, Grecian-style dress in jersey with a simple cross-over detail on the ribs, was striking, worn with flat sandals. Kors, who after serving as a judge on TV show Project Runway for 10 seasons is a dab hand at a sound bite, singled out the white T-shirt worn with embroidered full skirt as a particularly modern option, labelling it “norm-Kors”.
The designer is in a good place to make such quips. He officially became a billionaire earlier this year, and his brand announced strong financial results for the fourth quarter of 2013 – up 50% on the previous year, with revenue reaching £568.75m ($920m). His Michael Michael Kors Selma and Sophie bags – both selling for less than £300 ($485) – have become this year’s it bags, carried by young women everywhere happy to be able to buy a piece of a glossy New York catwalk brand. Kors’ latest take on American classics will no doubt be what they aspire to wear next summer – and that, in turn, will no doubt sell more handbags.
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