Michael Kors

1959-Present

(Annex Magazine)

Michael Kors

Biography:

          Michael Kors is well known for his fabulous handbags, clothing, shoes and accessories for men and women. In 1977, Kors attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, but only for one semester. He then continued the next three years working as a designer, buyer, and a display director for a New York Business boutique (Alford). He opened his own business in 1981, and the first collection consisted of only brown and black. Within a span of only five years, he had established over 75 retail stores. Kors has designed for on the side for Lyle & Scott, creating fabulous cashmere luxury knits while also creating a discounted brand for his firm, known as Kors by Michael Kors. He has worked with Céline, a branch of LVMH as a design director for ready-to-wear (Alford). He brought young, fresh, sophisticated sportswear ideas to Céline and the other companies he has worked with. Kors designs pieces that allow options. His pieces are able to be layered, mixed and matched, and are able to be cohesive due to the consistent use of certain fabrics and the natural color palette.

            The 1980s, when Michael Kors first began producing his designs, was a time of global change. The economy was scattered all over the place due to federal debt, but somewhat saved by tax cuts and creating a worldwide budget (American Decades). Throughout all of the chaos, simplicity was need, which is exactly what Kors portrayed with his fashion designs. His designs are simple, yet elegant.

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Critical Analysis:

            In the 1980s when Kors opened his first store and designed his first collection of all brown and black, the zeigtest of the time period when he first began creating his collections was known as the "yuppie" age (History.com). The baby boomers had aqcuired a college education and desired to be sophisticated, sleek, and professional (History.com). Michael Kors' asthetic resembles the zeitgeist of this time impeccably with his modern, slimming, and professional sportswear. "Popular television shows like "Thirtysomething" and movies like "The Big Chill" and "Bright Lights, Big City" depicted a generation of young men and women who were plagued with anxiety and self-doubt. They were successful, but they weren't sure they were happy" (History.com). Michael Kors noticed the movement being created before his eyes and decided that his goal was to make men and women feel confident about themselves and to help create happiness for them whenever they put one of his pieces. He made sure to aim towards to upper working class by creating mix and match pieces of sportswear that would look sophisticated no matter what was paired together.
            Michael Kors’ designs were influenced by Céline and LVMH due to their impeccable sophistication and color palette. Skirts became shorter and shorter in the 1980s, but Kors stayed true to what he felt was appropriate, sophisticated, and sexy (American Decades). He is able to create fashions that accentuate a womens body and make her look sexy without being revealing which is an impeccable talent admired by many today. Throughout the 1980s decade, many fashion trends included vulgar and revealing clothing. Michael Kors produced clothing that showed a woman’s true beauty without having to show all of her skin.

            Michael Kors is an icon because of how he is able to make the harsh color black look so soft and elegant looking. He takes manly clothing styles and transforms them into beautiful feminine clothing. Kors not only creates women’s clothing, but also menswear, handbags, swimwear, and footwear which makes his business dynamic and successful by providing variety. His use of luxury fabrics and how he manipulates them into such a simple sihloutte while making the woman wearing it look powerful and sophisticated is the exact reason why he is an icon.

Analysis of Future Trends:

            Many significant trends today have been created by Michael Kors and his influential and innovative designs. From pairing black and gold to making black and brown be paired together socially acceptable, he has done it all. Michael Kors has a signature twist to all of his garments and accessories, but mainly pairing black with gold accents. Seen on many of his sleek handbags sported on every woman's arm, his name is constantly seen on a gold plaque or the signature MK on a hanging charm.
              The trend of pairing black and gold is one that will always be seen throughout the fashion world in the future. Personally, I own many items inspired by Michael Kors. I have a Steve Madden Wallet that is gold with his name incorporated on a gold plaque which is very Kors-esque. I so own a purse very inspired by Michael Kors that is black with gold studs, and a gold shoulder chain. Many popular fashion items today are inspired by the iconic and sophisticated Michael Kors, which shows his significant impact on the world of fashion.

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Works Cited:

Alford, Holly Price, and Anne Stegemeyer. Who's Who in Fashion. Fifth ed. New York: Fairchild, 2010. Print.

"Fashion: Important Events of the 1980s." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, Victor Bondi, Richard Layman, Tandy McConnell, and Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. N. pag. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.

"Michael Kors Beauty Line." Annex Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.