Michael Kors: Noblesse Didn't Oblige
Written by: Godfrey Deeny
Photos by: Visko Hatfield
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New York, Feb 14, 2001/ FWD/ --- Michael Kors billed this collection as
"posh country" or "a luxe graphic take on equestrian chic."
But this normally noble talent
did not oblige in his usual style. Instead, Michael got lost somewhere between Scotch House
and the Tattersall's blood stock sales.
Individual items were excellent. Kors showed a slew of long white coats with bands of powerful
colors at the bottom, which were real showstoppers.
One couldn't help but admire a series of
camelhair shifts with piping and matching cardigan coats, a sumptuous sheared mink storm coat
and three divinely cut black matte jersey columns with muscular leather clasps.
Kors'
accessories were also eye-catching, in particular his John Lobb-style brogues and a witty new
tote with a rubber Wellington base.
But where was the opulent casual chic that made Kors the preferred designer of the self-assured
rich?
Far too often his lumpy Aran sweaters, horsey checks and hackneyed British looks were
dowdy and not dashing.
Worst of all was Michael's unfathomable obsession with Austrian quilted
jackets, a provincial costume not in need of resurrection.
Instead of the concise, coherent
show we have come to expect from this brilliant designer, we got a rambling 85-outfit
presentation that never really gelled.
At times the show seemed as convoluted as the soundtrack, which lurched from U2's greatest
hits to chamber music mixed with the sound of thundering hooves.
Who on earth would pair gold
beaded lace pants, a chunky sweater and a bulky trench?
And what a pity it is, since every one of those gorgeous evening pieces would have looked
splendid if styled differently.
The Kors man, which Michael traditionally shows with his women's collection, will wear flannel
riding britches, cashmere stretch tops and leather bomber jackets this fall.
Perhaps again it
was the faulty styling, but one can only guess that Michael's riders are the type who hunt no
further west than where Christopher Street meets the Hudson River.
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