As you are no doubt well aware, the highlight of NYFW '22 will be the long-awaited exhibition at the Metropolitan Costume Institute - In America. A Dictionary of Fashion". So, whatever we see on the runway, it's hard not to interpret it as a vision for the present and future of American fashion. However, of all the shows on this season's calendar, few were as capable of offering such powerful and confident advice as Michael Kors.
Synonymous with confident, wearable and optimistic clothing, the New York powerhouse presented a collection yesterday as a reaffirmation of these values. Shown in a particularly rustic corner of Central Park, it exuded breezy romance and confident sensuality. The delicacy of snowy white brocade coats and aprons was counterbalanced by the sensuality of dusky wool (as worn by Kendall Jenner) and butter black leather bustier and high-waisted skirt doublets, and cozy intarsia sweaters with love prints and pink mohair knits were balanced by the most rigorously tailored battledresses, blazers and pants. Sporty gingham and cut-out poplin crop tops and skirts gave a sense of spunk fit for the tennis court, while tight sequin evening gowns and cut-out columns suggested a slim, red-carpet-ready severity.
Rather than attempting to cast a wide net, however, this subtle game of opposites illustrates a fundamental versatility that has long defined Michael Kors' approach to fashion. He has always been committed to providing women with a strong, distinguished closet - one that is diverse enough to allow anyone, regardless of their fashion leanings, to wear their own style, but never feels ubiquitous or commonplace due to the amount of thought put into it. That these clothes exude a sense of optimism is self-evident, but what makes them noteworthy is that this optimism doesn't carry over into false illusions, as it often does. Instead, these clothes are rooted in a specific understanding of the people who will eventually wear them, and how they will choose to wear them.
