Michael Kors

Michael Kors was born in Long Island, New York in 1959 and studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. As a child, Michael Kors had two main ambitions: to be a movie star or a fashion designer. He describes himself not only as an only child, but also as a good companion to his mother, who was a former Revlon model and a shopaholic, who brought him up alone. At 4 years old, he modeled for cereal commercials and by the time he was a teenager, he was taking the train to Manhattan in order to study the art of acting. His grandparents would show him beautiful fabrics and show him the difference between quality and not. As a child he studied the fashion sketches in the New York Times newspaper.

Michael Kors learned his fashion trade by working at Lothar's boutique on 57th Street, New York. Celebrities such as Cher, Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand came there in order to buy casual clothes. This gave him an insight into customer preferences and before too long, he decided that he could design better clothes than what they initially had in stock.

The designer then established his own sportwear label in the year of 1981 and put together a small collection of separates for the buyers at Bergdorf Goodman. These sold immediately on the spot. His clinging scaled-down jumpsuits called attention to the body which he then decided to layer with jackets. Forking frequently with natural fabrics and neutral colours, Kors created some garments that are noted for their minimalist approach, yet with a cut that is considered as curvaceous and designed to flatter the body.

His separates are often quite practical - a body-hugging dress is worn with a more tailored jacket, and other jackets double as shirts. Many of his designs are inspired by the great American sportswear designer Claire McCardell. He is known as a directional designer who designs some sexy, sleek, sharp and very modern clothes.

He included his menswear line in 1990 but in 1993, the designer faced some severe financial problems. He nevertheless managed to bounce back.

Michael Kors also designed at the deluxe French house of Celine. He was chosen when Bernard Arnault (chairman of LVMH) felt that he was the man who could breathe a new kind of life into the label.

In 1999, he was named Womenswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Nowadays, Michael Kors' clothes, the epitome of sporty luxury in ultra-chic, ultra-wearable fabrics such as cashmere, silk and leather, have never been so enthusiastically received. He has designed for several films, the most recent being for Rene Russo in the Thomas Crown Affair and has also opened a boutique in the London store named Harvey Nichols. Michael Kors today totals in 108 boutiques across America, Europe and Japan.
 

Find fashion by Michael Kors @ the following eshops: