Throughout his career—from his years as creative director of French fashion house Céline (1997 to 2004) to his role as a beloved Project Runway judge to his work dressing figures such as Michelle Obama—Kors has helped shape both fashion and popular culture. In addition to his work as a designer, he has become a dedicated philanthropist, championing causes such as hunger relief through God’s Love We Deliver and the United Nations World Food Programme.
We recently spoke with Kors about the significance of this moment, how his brand has evolved and where he plans to go from here.
You’ve had an incredible career. How are you feeling right now?
“One of the things that still keep me excited and juiced and motivated is that the world changes so rapidly; if it didn’t, then I think fashion wouldn’t change [either], and I’d probably be bored at this point. But how can I be bored when we are inundated with constant change? So I feel energized. Over my whole career—45 years—I don’t know if we’ve ever seen a more plugged-in, sophisticated world. You don’t have to live in a big city anymore to know what’s happening as far as fashion is concerned. I also think that it’s an exciting moment where [thanks to social media] we communicate with each other in a way that we never did before, and I think people are more self-aware. It’s a good time to be a designer, and [things are] changing rapidly all the time, which keeps me curious and keeps me on my toes.”
I feel like you’ve always evolved. Your brand has always changed with the times—that’s kind of your superpower.
“The trick for me is that you have to be consistent and inconsistent at the same time. There has to be a connective thread if you’re going to have a long career, but at the same time, you have to constantly surprise yourself as a creative person. You also have to surprise your customer. So there’s this kind of yin-and-yang battle in everything Michael Kors does because I’m practical but then I’m indulgent. I care about the idea of longevity and timelessness, but at the same time, I have terrible FOMO and I want to see the newest thing fast. So it’s that kind of back-and-forth balance that works for me.”
