"I want to rename pre-fall 'city,' " Michael Kors said. "It's our most urban season, the clothes every girl in our office wants to wear all year round." Taking "seasonlessness" as his mantra—and Helmut Newton models as his muses—the designer showed a black bathrobe coat with a fox collar over a chiffon blouse and stretch wool shorts, and a belted zip-front vest with a seamed skirt ("It's a suit but not a suit," he said). There were also plenty of the sort of shoulder-baring shifts that Kors fan Michelle Obama has made her uniform. Versatility was another talking point of a collection that covered a lot of ground. Add one of his clever leather peplum belts to a long-sleeve dress or a sexy strapless number, and presto-change-o, you've got two looks in one. As for his glove-leather sheath with underwire seams, it won't fly in any office we know about, but its racy silhouette is the very definition of "working it." In fact, we wouldn't have objected to more of that Newton kick.
