Michael Kors knows that fashion has its place. That fact came into acute focus in two very different ways at his show on Wednesday morning. First, and by far the more important indicator, one of his models had a medical emergency before the show. Whatever the specific backstage machinery that was implemented, the girl became top priority, the show, second, which made it uncharacteristically late. Kors is a common-sense man with a head and a heart. He knows how to prioritize. On a lighter note, his sartorial pragmatism showed in the wardrobe choices of his front-row ladies. Unlike so many celebrity guests, Naomi Watts and Olivia Wilde were dressed in an unusual manner – for day during the day, no 10 a.m. evening gowns or bosom spillage. And they looked great.
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As did the clothes on the runway, where Kors sought to project an elevated earthiness inspired, he said, by “the strangest mix of women,” Georgia O’Keeffe and a young Elsa Peretti, “who strangely enough had a similar point of view, strong but sensual.” To Kors, those two descriptives go hand-in-hand with the counterpoint of his and hers, which here played out as mannish tailoring against an explosion of florals. The former flaunted workable swagger with a hint of street in loose, low-slung pants paired with white shirts or tanks. Often, these were shown under coats – Kors is an aficionado of the midweight spring coat – and his impressed: a black bonded-wool reefer, belted for sleekness; gauzy linen duster; python-trimmed balmacaan.
But the feminine looks stole the show. He printed or embroidered skirts and dresses with tightly packed masses of blossoms. He called them “desert flowers,” a handle that lent itself to a palette of deep red, strong blue and khaki. Among the stunners: a crimson washed-faille dress with plunging neckline and tiered skirt and a newfangled poet’s blouse, in a lapis poppy print with matching skirt. The level of intensity in the combination of bold color and ample volume extracted any trace of sweetness. In its place: flower power of the chicest sort.