The man behind the luxury brand

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The man behind the luxury brand

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American designer and judge of “Project Runway,” Michael Kors in Seoul. By Ines Cho

Seoul was awash with celebrities last week as Paris Hilton, Beyonce and Michael Kors turned Seoul briefly into Tinseltown.
Although Kors isn’t as instantly recognizable as Hilton or Beyonce, or as heavily guarded, he said the attention made him feel like a rock star.
The designer and judge of the Emmy-nominated reality TV show “Project Runway” made a whirlwind one-day tour of six stores. He later attended a reception to celebrate the first anniversary of his brand in Korea.
After studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Kors went on to win worldwide acclaim as the creative director at Celine. He has numerous awards including the Council of Fashion Designers of America award in 1999.
The Kors brand includes signature collections for men and women, plus a full range of accessory lines, which are sold in 350 stores worldwide.
Kors’s Asian ventures started in Japan in 2002, followed by Hong Kong in 2005 and Korea, 2006.
The designer took time during his busy schedule to talk with the IHT-JoongAng Daily at the Cheongdam-dong store.

Q. What does the Asian market mean to you?
A. There’s been a change in the perception of American brands in Asia. In the past, luxury in Europe and America meant casual. Asian customers started traveling a lot, and [to them] American fashion is about having it all. You can be glamorous, sexy, luxurious and comfortable. Also everyone has so much information available. Even before we came to Korea, the public here knew Michael Kors.
So in the new market, it’s important for us to find a local partner who understands the local market and my brand, because the experience should be consistent everywhere in the world.

What’s changed since you worked at Celine 10 years ago?
We have the most sophisticated young customers that ever existed. Back then, a woman had to be 30 to be sophisticated. Also today people mix prices, as long as the style and quality are great.

How do you spend your time between two major collections?
We do four women’s collections per year. Only two are on the runway. We do pre-collections for fall and spring, which are a big part of what our clients want to wear every day. We do four men’s collections, 12 shoes and eight handbag collections per year. We do all the advertising shoots ourselves, plus the new season for Project Runway which started on Nov. 14 in the U.S. We’ll film the finale during the New York Collections in February. We’re opening more stores in America ― in SoHo and in Greenwich, Connecticut. In January we’ll find a vacation wardrobe for our clients in Florida before the next season arrives.

Your career has crossed over to journalism. Any interesting interviews?
It’s fun being a writer, and I’ve done two interviews so far for Harper’s Bazaar magazine. The first one was with Elizabeth Taylor. No one has had a more outrageous, interesting and glamorous life than Elizabeth Taylor. She still has a sense of humor, and she’s very honest and very forthright. With her, she was a goddess and I was a fan. With Jessica Simpson, whom I’ve known since she was a teenager, it’s more like two friends saying “What’s going on in your life?”

What was your life like before you began designing womenswear?
I always loved to draw. My mother remarried when I was five, and I helped her design her wedding dress. And I loved shopping! I got the rush when I walked into a store and found something wonderful when I was a teenager. I think that’s what fashion, when it’s good, can do for you. I still get the rush, and the rush is great.

Wherever you are, you’re always in competition with European fashion houses. What are your strategies?
If you want modernity and to feel fresh, it’s American fashion. American fashion caters to a fast-paced lifestyle and is about balancing a sense of luxury and glamour with a sense of utility and comfort.
We combine comfort and functionality with what’s traditionally considered European: indulgence and artistry. We’ve seen that the idea of age has changed in the world. It used to be that people bought something specific to their age group. Americans don’t think that way.


By Ines Cho Contributing Writer [inescho@joongang.co.kr]
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