We take a trip down memory lane, one that's nostalgic of the many late nights we stumbled through Times Square and Broadway, amidst the hustlers and angry New Yorkers, striding ourselves down past 46th and 47th on 7th Ave, ears ringing with sirens and our eyes blinded with the blast bright lights. We remember it as if it was yesterday, the scent of baked pretzels and roasted nuts simmering above as we push past mobs of shoppers and wailing tour guides, finding relief as land on the steps of 49th St subway.
In reflection of a time where the city we know and love as New York becomes a distant memory, Michael Kors pays tribute to our favourite city in the celebration of his 40th Anniversary runway show, lighting up the streets of the closed down Theater District, immersing us into a brief fantasy of a world opened up again.
Timeless, polished, big city smoke and charcoal, Michael Kors reminds us, the city may be quiet but the New York City woman hasn't gone anywhere. The FW 21 40th Anniversary collection debuted as a stream from Times Square accompanied by a short film starring some of our favourite faces and Broadway A-listers including Billy Porter, Bette Midler, Rosario Dawson, Debra Messing, Alan Cumming, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Ashley Park, filmed at one of Kors' favourite landmarks and legendary theater district restaurant, Sardi’s.
“For my 40th anniversary collection, I was really thinking about the joy in getting dressed up and stepping out for a night on the town... there’s a sense of timelessness and big-city optimism that has been a linchpin of Michael Kors since the very beginning—a yin-and-yang balance between opulence and simplicity, something that’s laid-back and at the same time luxurious," says Michael Kors.
A full New York soiree and attraction, the show took a heartfelt turn with the musical performance by award winning Rufus Wainwright singing renditions of New York favourites City Lights, New York State of Mind and There’s No Business like Show Business.
Shining a light on the glamour that is New York City, Kors takes us further down memory lane 90s models Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Carolyn Murphy storming the runway. The show? It really was a midnight New York dream.
“New York is a city of hustlers, when times are complicated we do slow ourselves up and I do think really good work comes out of it," says Kors.
Sharp tailored workwear, camel lapeled waist coat dresses, skirts with provocative slits, the 90s mini skirt and floor length wool coats only known to a true New Yorker, Michael Kors celebrates 4 decades in 63 looks that remind us, New York, New York really is here to stay.
View the full collection and stream the full experience on on michaelkors-collection.com.
