Michael Kors Fall 2011 Review
Photos: Imaxtree
Looks from the Michael Kors Fall 2011 collection
SHOW: Michael Kors (See the full runway collection)
THEME: Cheerful American glamour to celebrate Kors’s 30th anniversary
ACCESSORIES: High metal chokers, Wonder Woman–esque metal cuffs, skinny belts
HAIR: Orlando Pita for Orlo Salon
MAKEUP: Dick Page for Shiseido
FRONT ROW: Catherine Zeta-Jones (high-volume hair) and Michael Douglas (sunglasses on the whole time); Anjelica Huston; Debra Messing; Emma Roberts; Bette Midler grinning and tapping her knee in time to the soundtrack’s remix of “I Feel Love”
OVERALL TAKEAWAY: Polished ease with a sunny smile, ready to raise a glass of champagne
An early picture of Michael Kors beams out from the invitation for the designer’s anniversary show. Flanked by models in flowing white culottes, Kors grins under his mop of blond curls. Thirty years on, the curls may be gone but the infectious optimism is still there.
While there were plenty of references to decades past—racerbacks, bodysuits, sharp-shouldered blazers—the clothes weren’t overly nostalgic. As ever, they’re wearable with a wink.
Kors stuck to monochrome combinations in neutrals, soft pink, and muted mauve, plus a few flashes of lipstick red. Suits in gray flannel or cocoa gabardine, for instance, were paired with pullovers in the same shade. Karolina Kurkova walked in silk charmeuse pajama pants, a thick cashmere turtleneck, and a furry crossover bag, all in butterscotch.
There were sexier numbers too, like halter dresses flashing with crystals, some hung off a metal neck piece. A wide croc belt bound a slit-front skirt to a stretchy bodysuit with an asymmetric cutaway back.
These are clothes that will make you look a few inches taller and several degrees more graceful. They nudge you to lengthen your stride, relax your shoulders, and think “long lunch” instead of “next appointment.” Were those smiles flickering across some of the models’ faces? Yes indeed.
The final look encapsulated it all: a long, slinky, jersey gown worn by Carmen Kass, covered in “suntan” crystals. We hope someone wears it to the after-party.
SEE THE FALL 2011 RUNWAY COLLECTIONS
