MICHAEL KORS' VALENTINE TO NY AS FASHION WEEK WIND UP
Billionaire designer Michael Kors kicked off Vale entine’s Day at New York Fashion Week on Wed dnesday with a love letter to his hometown, an explosion e of contrast with on-trend black for evening.
If I autumn/winter 2018 has underscored the iden ntity crisis plaguing New York’s biannual style fest t with a thinning schedule and glut between the passing of one generation and the search for another, then Kors’ answer to the problem was s scatter gun.
“The “last thing you want is someone telling you u what to wear, when to wear it and how to wea ar it. You do what you want, when you want,” the 58-year-old tweeted after the show.
Friend F and actress Black Lively sat front row dressed in a bright scarlet trench as models stro ode up and down the stairs, winding through the lobby of the Vivian Beaumont Theater on the last t day of Fashion Week.
The T electic soundtrack — everything from Petu ula Clark’s Downtown, to West Side Story’s I Feel l Pretty and Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s Empire State Of Mind M—reflected the riot of contrast, an explosion no ff lo ra ls, stripes, animal print and tartan.
C Closing with Julie Andrew’s My Favorite Thin ngs from The Sound of Music, the looks ranged from m sporty, to red flannel, loud yellow and black che ck, grey argyle, oversized woollen scarfs, leopard print and plaid for fall 2018.
Kors checked the canary yellow trend often seen this season, and continued his tradition of using curve models in the line-up, sending out both Ashley Graham and Sabina Karlsson.
For evening there was black — the colour appropriated on the red carpet this awards season by women protesting against sexual harassment — but usefully the colour adored by wealthy New York women wanting to look as slim as possible.
There was a long backless black sequin dress with trumpet sleeves and black sequin pants, paired with bedroom-slipper-style shoes.
“I wanted the show to be a love letter to New York,” said Kors of the city synonymous with his label — his MK bags as ubiquitous on the subway as his high-end dresses are favoured by the likes of First Lady Melania Trump.
“So much of New York is iconic, from the architecture to the theatre to the faces, and anyone who’s ever been here has their own New York story,” he said.
In the Broadway-style playbill given to guests, he called it “a Valentine to personal style”. At the end, Kors shot out up and down the runway, dressed in a black suit and sneakers, blowing kisses.
Fashion Week closed on Thursday with US high-fashion darling Marc Jacobs, before the season flits to London, Milan and Paris.