Q&A with Michael Kors
What are you reading this Summer?
I tend to read several books at a time - I just finished a fantastic book about iconic female singer/songwriters called "Girls Like Us : Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon -- and the Journey of a Generation" by Sheila Weller, also in play is "Nuryev: The Life" by Julie Kavanagh.
Who are your muses?
I have been inspired by classic American icons ranging from Jackie O, Candice Bergen, Ali McGraw, Babe Paley and Gloria Guinness. Modern women like Elle MacPherson, Aerin Lauder, Jennifer Lopez and even the Olsens all have a look and sense of precision to their style that gets me going. For Fall 2008 I was thinking what would happened if Grace Kelly and Amy Winehouse were roommates? Taking the iciness out of the 'Hitchcock Blonde' and messing it up a bit.
How do you begin to design a collection?
It all starts from the point of trying to think what my customer will want or need? Also, there are proportions and shapes that begin in one season and need to carry on in new ways to the next, so that can kick-start an idea. Sometimes a piece of fabric can get some juices flowing. But for the most part I get ideas from pop culture and what goes on around me. A few seasons ago it struck me that dance and dancing was taking the country by storm, and, unknowingly, I moved around the corner from the Joffrey Ballet school, and seeing these young women coming and going in their various layers and shapes helped me formulate the concept. For Fall it was a convergence of being glued to MAD MEN on TV, listening to tons of Amy Winehouse and seeing Hitchcock films on DVD which lead me to a return to a more tailored way of dressing -- but not so strict or referential to the 1960's, so in a newer more relaxed way.
