As New York Fashion Week rolls to a close, everyone seems to be asking, is there a malaise or is it me? Michael Kors isn’t buying it. The moodboard in his showroom was pinned with pictures of Zoë Kravitz ducking from the paparazzi in a slouched-on coat and ’90s-era Sharon Stone and Glenn Close deplaning in silk pajamas with a fur tucked into the crook of an arm or in a mannish blazer and chinos. As models changed in and out of looks, Kors said, “the hands are jammed in the pockets, the coat is flung. It does have that dégagé feeling, as only the French could coin, but it’s what we invented, and I mean, everyone’s forgotten. This is New York. Why would you chase Europe? I don’t even mean the runways. I mean the streets. Everywhere you go in the world, people want a sense of ease.”
The task for Kors, now that he’s been at if for—gasp—44 years, is renewing that New York sensibility each season and keeping it fresh. To do so for fall, he focused on movement, working with asymmetry and bias cutting on both tailoring and dresses to convey a sense of dynamism. Pleated skirts were cut with stepped hems, jackets and vests were designed with diagonal seams that spiralled down the torso, and waistbands on both trousers and skirts were paper bagged for an impromptu sense of chic. The point was to not look too studied. There’s charm and seduction in that little bit of skin which the stepped hem or the undone shirt reveals; the allure, in fact, lies in what’s concealed. And so proportions were generously oversized, especially on some of the tailored jackets, though here and there bras stood in for button-downs—he’s got to talk to all generations, after all.
That dégagé feeling extended into his thoughts on after-dark dressing. He may be a celebrity favourite—Uma Thurman, Kerry Washington and Suki Waterhouse were in the building—but you’re not likely to see a traditional red carpet gown on a Kors runway. He’s allergic to corsets and anything constricting. Instead, his idea for a big evening this season was a loose-fitting, almost bouncy sequinned jersey dress in a tank, plunge front, T-shirt, or mock-neck silhouette. He described it as “opulent minimalism” but whatever you call it, his brand of low effort high glamour looked winning today.
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