The original location of the legendary Barney’s Department store in the Chelsea section of Manhattan set the stage for designer Michael Kors to present his Fall-Winter 2024 collection at New York Fashion Week. Inside the mirrored lobby, the celebrity-rich crowd included actors Blake Lively, Katie Holmes, Rachel Zegler, Brie Larson, Gabrielle Union, and many others.
Before the show, Kors explained his mission for this collection during an interview with a media organisation. “When the world is upside down, I think my job is to make people feel more confident. It’s that simple,” Kors said.
His mother, Joan Kors, who died last year, had a strong influence on his life and career. And while her legacy remains with the designer, this time it was his grandmother who inspired him. “I found my grandmother’s wedding gown and she got married in the 30s, and I started delving into the 30s because her dress looked so incredibly modern,” Kors said.
From there, he thought about old Hollywood. “We saw the two sides of women’s personalities, we saw things that were very sensual and we saw Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow, and then we saw the great classic tomboys like (Marlena) Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn and the connective thread that all of that kept going,” Kors said.
The idea of creating the collection based on those elements and ideas impressed Rachel Brosnahan. “I feel like any time you can inspire your art, whether it’s fashion or acting or music with any kind of emotion, it just makes that iconic and timeless and stand out. So I’m excited and I didn’t know that,” Brosnahan said.
Once the runway show began, the crowd was treated to an assortment of tweed jackets, double-breasted coats, slit skirts, and sequined dresses. There were cashmere turtleneck sweaters, thick eyewear, and slender bags. With a few exceptions, the majority of designs employed a neutral colour palette, with some grey, and lots of blacks.
“Black is definitely part of the collection. But there’s also the shock of wearing head-to-toe white in the winter. But then there are some warm tones of cappuccino and chocolate, lots of metallics, gunmetal, which I love,” Kors said.
Outside of the colour scheme, Kors strives to create form-fitting, sensual designs with roomy comfort. “It is never just about wearing something skintight because for me it’s comfort for everything. But it’s definitely about showing the body too. That’s why today you will see models of every age and every size, which makes it interesting for me,” Kors said.
He added: “When they get dressed, they put something on, and it makes them feel ready to greet the day and feel their best self.”