The sale of Versace to Prada this week in a $1.4bn deal marked a new chapter for two storied Italian fashion houses.
It also left Versace’s former parent company, Capri Holdings, with an even greater focus on Michael Kors, the 44-year-old brand know as America’s Armani that made up about 70% of sales in its last financial year.
Speaking to the Guardian before the launch of his new flagship store on Regent Street in London, Kors said he was concerned that the fashion industry is becoming “more about entertainment and spectacle” and less about customer needs. “When fashion people hear ‘wearable’, they think it’s such a dirty word. And God forbid anyone says ‘commercial’. To them, it’s the worst thing in the world.”
Kors doesn’t just sell clothing but a glamorous aspirational lifestyle that he and his brand embody. His designs have been worn by everyone from first ladies to Gwyneth Paltrow and Megan Thee Stallion. But while his Instagram feed is peppered with A-lister dinner parties, summers sailing around the Saronic islands and glossy catwalk shots, it’s the brand’s more mainstream off-shoot MICHAEL Michael Kors that is its economic moat. Stroll down any high street and you’ll spot the shiny MK logo swinging from bags slung over the shoulders of finance graduates or hanging from the elbows of women who wanted a designer bag for less than four figures.
Alongside Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors remains just one of the last three big heritage designers to still be designing at their American namesake brands. Matthieu Blazy at Chanel may be the industry’s new hot topic but in a pub quiz its Kors’ name that is going to resonate. A 10-season stint as a judge on the TV show Project Runway means he is now recognised on the street. He has honed his look too, including aviator sunglasses and a year-round caramel tan.
In the context of a noticeable return to extreme thinness in the industry – after the latest round of shows in September, industry experts expressed concern about size zero coming back to the catwalks, with many crediting the widespread use of weight-loss drugs as having a normalising effect – Kors continues to cast a range of sizes. In contrast, some brands that had previously included plus-size models used exclusively straight-sized models (a UK 4-8).
Kors finds attitudes towards sizing in the industry frustrating. “Unfortunately, I think fashion people can be overly trendy. They think things are a trend rather than actually moving something forward. We all have families. We all know different people of different ages and different sizes. Don’t you want them all to be invited to the party? That’s to me how it should be.”
Kors started his label in 1981 with a debut collection featuring sports-inspired pieces such as loosely tailored trousers and knitted polo shirts, laying the foundations of what would later become known in the industry as athleisure. His empire now spans watches, shoes, eyewear and fragrance.
In her new photo book, The Look, the former first lady Michelle Obama – who wore a black sleeveless dress designed by Kors in her first official portrait – described how the media and public’s “fascination” with her bare arms was used as a tool to “otherize” her.
A staunch Democrat, Kors describes political dressing as “the trickiest thing in the world”. His designs are also favoured by Melania Trump, whom Kors describes as “a longtime client”. Kors says: “It doesn’t matter who you are, it’s an impossible situation to have eyes on you at every angle.” He compares it to the red carpet. “People think if they were a celebrity they could wear anything they want but they’re just as petrified walking out the door.”
Capri Holdings’s increased interest in the business comes after a series of setbacks for the group, including its failed $8.5bn proposed merger with Tapestry and higher pricing missteps at Michael Kors – the result of an attempt to cushion the impact of US trade tariffs.
Part of Capri’s strategy to turn Michael Kors into the next global behemoth is to focus on the sizeable mid-tier market. According to the data research company Edited, luxury prices have risen 25% since 2019. While the 1% are unfazed, the more aspirational customer, who previously would have saved up to buy a designer coat or bag once a year, have in effect been priced out. This is the customer Capri Holdings – which also owns Jimmy Choo – is now confident it can appeal to.
Kors’ bags – including the Quinn tote that fits a laptop without looking like a laptop bag – hover around the £230 mark, while a new take on its bestselling Hamilton bag, carried by Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss, is £275. Rachel Morgans, the director of fashion at John Lewis, credits the brand’s “brilliant price point” as one of the reasons it has been a top seller since the retailer started stocking it in 2013.
At a dinner to celebrate the London opening, Kors was flanked by the singer Suki Waterhouse and the actor Gemma Chan, but the day before he was in a Philadelphia mall meeting customers. “If you lock yourself in your atelier and you’re only surrounded by your circle of friends or your circle of employees, you’re gonna limit yourself,” Kors says. “You have got to stay curious. It’s important I know what type of thing my customers want.” Right now that is “things that delight but still function”, with a shift away from a wear-once mentality.
At 66, Kors says he doesn’t dwell on succession plans. “In fashion we are always working on the next thing. It changes so quickly. As long as I still enjoy it and I’m curious and energised then great. If not I’ll go do something else.”
He isn’t nostalgic but does spend time searching for pieces from his earliest collections. “At the time I had no money so I sold everything. I spend time hunting, but a vintage dealer told me my pieces are hard to find. People don’t want to sell them. They hang on to them or pass them on.”
Part of the appeal is pegged to his inclusive catwalks spanning size, age and race. “If you’re a good designer and you like people, your job should be to be a problem solver for different ages, different sizes, different heights and so on.”
