NEW YORK — Michael Kors is a billionaire — or close to it, so it makes sense that he believes in investment dressing, albeit with a romantic touch.
The 54-year-old designer, who is worth at least $950 million since his company went public in late 2011, has built an empire based on creating good looking American sportswear with an aspirational touch. His spring 2014 collection, which he debuted before an audience that included Katie Holmes and Kate Mara, features classic clothing — crisp blazers, slouchy gabardine trousers, striped silk blouses, linen dresses and sensible trenches — that look good today or five years from now.
"If Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Hutton had a baby, this would be their love child."
Backstage afterwards, he was quick with a quip, just as he always was on Project Runway, telling a USA Today reporter about his collection, "If Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Hutton had a baby, this would be their love child."
Amid the impeccably-tailored traditional pieces, Kors added his own twist. Some skirts featured two slits in the front to show a little more leg, a "flirt skirt" and cap-sleeve T-shirt were crafted from python, hand-embroidered daisies dotted a high-waisted bikini and raffia hand-embroidered flowers add pizzazz to a linen dress.
The collection exuded a romantic tone as Bette Midler's sensual version of "Do You Wanna Dance?" and Mama Cass Elliott's "Dream A Little Dream of Me" wafted though the loudspeakers in the theater as a line-up of famous models — Joan Smalls, Karolina Kurkova, Carmen Kass, Karlie Kloss, Hilary Rhoda and Karen Elson — walked the runway.
In a green and white vine-printed halter gown, with a white Chesterfield coat loosely over her shoulders, Elson closed the show with a smile, looking like a happy woman at the end of a great formal evening with her guy.
But what was he wearing? We're not sure. Kors' runway collection usually shows quite a bit of men's clothing, but this time only five of the 56 looks were aimed at men.
