Michael Kors

For the company, see Michael Kors (brand).

Michael Kors (born Karl Anderson, Jr.; August 9,1959)[2] is a New York City-based fashion designerwidely known for designing classic American sportswearfor women. He is Honorary Chairman and Chief CreativeOcer for his company, Michael Kors Holdings Limited(KORS), which is popular for its wide variety of high-endfashion accessories.[3]

1 Personal lifeKors was born Karl Anderson, Jr.[4] in Long Island,New York, the son of Joan Hamburger, a former model,and her rst husband, Karl Anderson, Sr, a collegestudent.[5][6][7] His mother remarried Bill Kors when hewas ve, and his surname was changed to Kors. Hismother told him that he could choose a new rst nameas well; subsequently he renamed himself Michael DavidKors.[7] He grew up in Merrick, New York and grad-uated from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore,New York. Kors mother is Jewish and his father wasof Swedish descent.[4][8][9][10] Kors married his husband,Lance LePere, on August 16, 2011.[1]

2 CareerKors had an anity for fashion since he was very young.His mother thought it might have had to something to dowith the fact that he was exposed to the apparel industrythrough her modeling career. Michael even designed hismothers wedding dress for her secondmarriage at the ageof ve. As a teen, Kors began designing clothes and sell-ing them out of his parents basement, which he renamedthe Iron Buttery.[11] In 1977, he enrolled at the FashionInstitute of Technology in New York City.[12] However,he dropped out after only nine months and took a jobat a boutique across from Bergdorf Goodman on 57thStreet, where he was given a small space to sell his de-signs. Shortly after, Dawn Mello, the fashion director atBergdorf, discovered Kors. She asked if he would showhis collection to Bergdorf Goodmans buyers and he hashad his collection ever since.[13] In 1981, Kors launchedthe Michael Kors womenswear line at Bloomingdales,Bergdorf Goodman, Lord&Taylor, NeimanMarcus, andSaks Fifth Avenue. A bankruptcy in 1993 forced himto discontinue the Kors line for a time. He managed

to get back on his feet by 1997 and launched a lowerpriced line and at the same time was named the rst-ever womens ready-to-wear designer for French houseCeline.[14] In his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashionhouse around with successful accessories and a criticallyacclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors left Celine in Octo-ber 2003 to concentrate on his own brand. Kors launchedhis menswear line in 2002.

Michelle Obama's rst term ocial portrait

In addition to the Michael Kors runway collection, theMICHAEL Michael Kors and KORS Michael Kors lineswere launched in 2004. The MICHAEL line includeswomens handbags and shoes as well as womens ready-to-wear apparel. The KORS line contains footwear andJeans. Currently, Kors has full collection boutiques inNew York, Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, Manhasset, andChicago. 2011 marked Kors thirtieth year in business.Among the celebrities who have worn Kors designs areJennifer Lopez, Rachel McAdams, Elissa, Heidi Klum,and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Michelle Obama wore herblack sleeveless dress in her rst term ocial portrait as

1

2 5 IN POPULAR CULTURE

A dress by Michael Kors, 2010

First Lady.[15] Joan Allen wore his gown when she wasnominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress forher role in the The Contender. Jennifer Garner wore acustom creation as an Academy Award presenter in 2006.As creative director of Celine, Kors designed many out-ts for actresses to wear on screen, including GwynethPaltrow in Possession;[16] and Rene Russo in The ThomasCrown Aair.[17] One of his gowns was worn by AliciaKeys for her performance at Barack Obamas inauguralball on January 21, 2013.[18]

The ad campaigns for Kors often reect the jet-setsportswear that Kors fans are fond of. Previous cam-paigns include the model Carmen Kass on the tarmac ofan airport, on a safari in Africa, and relaxing on a yacht.Kors was a judge on the Emmy-nominated reality televi-sion program Project Runway, which aired on Bravo forve seasons; subsequent seasons aired on Lifetime. OnDecember 18, 2012, it was announced that Kors wouldbe leaving Project Runway, to be replaced by fellow de-signer Zac Posen.[19]

In January 2014, Forbes reported that Kors now has apersonal fortune in excess of $1 Billion, making him thelatest fashion industry billionaire. Michael Kors Hold-ings had already minted two billionaires: Silas Chouand Lawrence Stroll.[20]

3 Other honorsIn 2013, Michael was selected for The Time 100, themagazines annual list of the 100 most inuential peoplein the world. He also made the New York Observers listof the 100 Most Inuential New Yorkers, under the fash-ion category. Kors was honored by The Couture Councilof The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology(FIT) with the 2013 Couture Council Award for Artistryof Fashion. Most recently, Kors was named to Out mag-azines 2014 Power 50 List. In 2012, Kors was honoredwith the Golden Heart Lifetime Achievement Award byGods Love We Deliver, a non-prot organization thatdistributes fresh meals to people living with HIV/AIDSand other diagnoses, which he has been involved with forover 20 years. In 2010, Kors received the Oliver R. GraceAward for Distinguished Service in Advancing CancerResearch, an annual honor bestowed by the Cancer Re-search Institute, a U.S. nonprot organization dedicatedto advancing immune system-based treatments for can-cer. In 2010, Kors was the youngest recipient ever ofthe Georey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award fromthe Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)and received the Fragrance Foundations FiFi Award forLifetime Achievement. In 2007, Kors was honored asDesigner of the Year at Marymount Universitys Portfo-lio in Motion fashion show.

4 Legal issuesIn January 2009, the estate of the artist-designer TonyDuquette sued Kors for trademark infringement afterKors allegedly used Duquettes name and images in pro-moting Kors 2009 resortwear collection.[21]

In July 2013 he became the second luxury brand, afterTiany & Co, to sue Costco for falsely claiming in adver-tisements that they sold his product.[22]

5 In popular cultureKors was referenced in the lm The Devil Wears Prada byMeryl Streep's character Miranda Priestly. In the scene,Priestly sweeps into her oce and gives a list of instruc-tions to her personal assistant (Emily Blunt). Priestlysays, RSVP 'yes to Michael Kors party and I want thedriver to drop me o at 9:30 and pick me up at 9:45sharp.[23]

Kors is also mentioned in Big Sean's song "Dance" byNicki Minaj. Drake also mentions Michael Kors in hissong FromTime, and rapper Pusha T in his song Num-bers on the Boards. Additionally, Kors guest starred ashimself in a FashionWeek themed episode of the hit teenshow Gossip Girl; the same show that repeatedly show-cases several pieces from his collections.

3Michael Kors, left, in January 2015, at Juliuss restaurant inGreenwich Village, with a fan.

6 References[1] Lee, Joyce (August 17, 2011). Designer Michael Kors

marries longtime partner. CBS News. Retrieved Octo-ber 24, 2014.

[2] Kors show a knockout Opulence, glitz dominatewardrobes. Daily News (New York). February 10, 2000.

[3] Michael Kors Watches on Sale - Buy Michael KorsWatches online

[4] H.W. Wilson Company (1986). Current Biography. H.W. Wilson Co. p. 360. ISBN.

[5] Harpers Bazaar: Michael Kors: American Idol By ElisaLipsky-Karasz June 29, 2011

[6] Hamilton, Fiona. The Times (London) http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article6187674.ece. Missing or empty |title=(help)

[7] People Magazine: With His Hot New Line, MichaelKors Grabs the Fashion Ladders Top Rung By ElizabethSporkin April 8, 1991

[8] Rappaport, Jill (November 2007). Mazel Tov: CelebritiesBar and Bat Mitzvah Memories. Simon & Schuster. ISBN0-7432-8787-8.

[9] Andreoli, Richard (2005-02-01). Working the runway:out designer Michael Kors tells it like it is to would-befashionistas on Bravos Project Runway. The Advocate.Archived from the original on 2007-11-09. Retrieved2007-06-20.

[10] Michael Kors - Page - Interview Magazine

[11] Vogue.com

[12] Infomat Michael Kors Biography Infomat.com, Septem-ber 10, 2009

[13] CNN.com, September 18, 2010

[14] Styl.sh The Michael Kors Story, December 11, 2012

[15] Wilson, Eric (February 27, 2009). Mrs. Obama inKors. The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2013.

[16] Pezik, Anna (August 16, 2002). Gwyneth Paltrow: 'Pos-session'". CNN.com archive. Retrieved 9 February 2013.

[17] Atkinson, Nathalie (22 February 2011). Oscar Score-card: Best costume design. The National Post. Retrieved9 February 2013.

[18] Wilson, Julee (2013-01-22). Alicia Keys Red Gown:Singer Stuns In Michael Kors Design At Inaugural Ball.The Hungton Post. Retrieved 9 February 2013.

[19] Michael Kors Is Leaving 'Project Runway'". The DailyBeast. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

[20] Michael Kors Is Fashions Newest Billionaire. Forbes.January 2014.

[21] Tony Duquette Files Infringement Suit on Michael KorsEinnews.com, January 27, 2009

[22] Michael Kors company suing Costco claiming false ad-vertising. ABC. July 16, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2013.

[23] The Devil Wears Prada script

4 7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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Michael Kors Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael%20Kors?oldid=651157055 Contributors: Kingturtle, SatyrTN, Postdlf, Sun-ray, Bkell, David Gerard, Jason Quinn, Morgan695, Neutrality, D6, MeltBanana, Bobo192, DreamGuy, SidP, Daniel Case, Wikiklrsc,Mandarax, Jw21, Mr Frosty, Gaius Cornelius, Thane, Grafen, Howcheng, Navstar, Crunch, Caponer, SmackBot, The Famous MovieDirector, Quadratic, Bluebot, Calliopejen, Hooriaj, Colonies Chris, Agerard, Shamir1, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Guat6, Accurizer, Ck-atz, The Man in Question, Dkorn, Alonzo51087, Hu12, Rnb, Ohthelameness, Chicheley, Myasuda, SKS2K6, Cydebot, Plcs, Cunningpal,DumbBOT, Ward3001, Omicronpersei8, JimmB, Thijs!bot, Marek69, Neil916, SusanLesch, Lmaltier, CZmarlin, Shousokutsuu, Tmaher,Postcard Cathy, Albany NY, MegX, Propaniac, ZPM, Waacstats, Gr1st, ForthOK, Hekerui, Jocasta shadow, Talon Artaine, Vigyani,Rukish, Krushdiva, Pharaoh of the Wizards, BigrTex, Aboutmovies, Sfphotocraft, Imbrown, White 720, GrahamHardy, Kitchawan,Corvus cornix, UnitedStatesian, Bearian, Napoleon Dynamite42, Lerdthenerd, Wrathpuppet, Meters, Ponyo, StAnselm, Moonridden-girl, Dawn Bard, Waygugin, Flyer22, Aspects, Anakin101, SamuelM555, Owlmonkey, TubularWorld, Sitush, Kennvido, All HallowsWraith, Excirial, Liane1950, 842U, Cary, DumZiBoT, Lissyhawk, XLinkBot, Mabalu, Addbot, Blerr, Jim10701, Chamal N, Tassedethe,Robomod, Lightbot, Fierceavors, Tyrah343, PlankBot, Yobot, Parkaveking, Librsh, Valerio79, Magog the Ogre, Epps22, AnomieBOT,Hairhorn, Jw1701, Jmh153, Citation bot, Quattroporte, Shojego, Reggiemantle, FrescoBot, Londonlnd, Tinton5, Full-date unlinking bot,MikeAllen, Callanecc, Vrenator, January, Canuckian89, Diannaa, Mean as custard, RjwilmsiBot, Alph Bot, Petermcelwee, DASHBot,Tommy2010, TuHan-Bot, Kaytrox91, Wikipelli, Shearonink, Josve05a, H3llBot, QEDK, Erianna, Kennyliam, Sputter1234, Jugenjury1,Sonicyouth86, ClueBot NG, Gareth Grith-Jones, Jack Greenmaven, MelbourneStar, Fashiongroupie, Justlettersandnumbers, Michaelko-rscorp, O.Koslowski, Patapsco913, EileenWu, Robert Biddulph, Eileenwong, Widr, Helpful Pixie Bot, BlueBonnet, BG19bot, MusikAn-imal, Amp71, Aduberman, MGR11, BattyBot, Mrt3366, ChrisGualtieri, Mediran, Emogil7, Webclient101, Mogism, Isarra (HG), VI-AFbot, Ysyeee, Chaim1995, Dogggy7, Cam04, Epicgenius, ToriJana, Soymilksogood, Tomwilkinsonjersey, Powerda, PippoMinga, Liz,Thomas5487, IPadPerson, Ajeeeeeezy, Lucylad, Ishani Shah, Monkbot, BerkeleyLaw1979, Killakip, Vieque, Prada8210, Johnkeets1,J.glover94, QueenFan, Asas122131, Neme504, Mahoneyfarry, Techstriker, Yurr123 and Anonymous: 237

7.2 Images File:MICHAEL_KORS_221.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/MICHAEL_KORS_221.jpg License:

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commons/b/b6/Michael_Kors%2C_Photographed_by_Ed_Kavishe_for_Fashion_Wire_Press.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors:Wikipedia:Contact us/Photo submission Original artist: Ed Kavishe, http://www.fashionwirepress.com/

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