Michael Kors is never not paying attention to what women wear: in his office, out to dinner, at the theater, on vacation. Especially on vacation. For his new collection, the idea was to bring laid-back beachy vibes to every urbane piece he put on the runway—from the X to the Y—and, while he was at it, to make some essential pieces for his girls’ next island getaway. Here in the city this summer, Kors saw a lot of cut-offs, flip-flops, and girls going pantsless. This show was also a reaction to that: How do you dress for the heat without looking undone, or worse, sloppy?
Not that that’s ever really an issue in Kors’s world. This is a designer who, when he decides to do a tie-dye sweatshirt, makes it in multi-ply cashmere (and lines it in cotton, to boot) and throws in a matching cashmere blanket to seal the deal. At the sight of a glow-y Carolyn Murphy in that show-opening first look, who didn’t instantly wish they were on the next flight to Los Angeles, or better yet, flying private like his front row seatmates Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts likely do?
Kors worked in a palette of breezy pastels—the colors of the New York season—before graduating to navy, gray, and black; and, in addition to the subtle tie-dying, he devised palm tree–shadow prints in the same breezy spirit. The palm trees covered slip dresses and sarongs, as well as accent pieces that he paired with overscale blazers. It ran the gamut from full-on vacation kit to singular items designed to conjure an out-of-office feeling. And, thanks to the color palette, there was something for nearly every personality type, from the extroverted (see most of the above) to the more minimally inclined (a bias-cut white linen gauze sundress; a silk georgette trench dress; and Mica Argañaraz’s tuxedo jacket, silk blouse, and sequin sarong).
Kors was in top form here, and for the record, he’s actually pro flip-flops for next Spring—on one condition: They come in croc (real, not faux!) and they have his name on the sole.
