Michael Kors embraces 70s city sleek to wrap up New York Fashion Week

“My customers are big city customers,” said Michael Kors at a showroom preview the day before his autumn/winter 2023 runway in New York. “They want elegant, polished clothes that are functional, that move.” And certainly, the collection he unveiled on Wednesday was a pared back, ultra-wearable wardrobe of timeless investment pieces that felt metropolitan without being too corporate.

The women on his mood board this season were those who’d influenced him when he was coming of age in Greenwich Village in the 70s: Yoko Ono, Tina Turner, Cher, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, Cicely Tyson, Aretha Franklin… and his mother. “The women who intrigued me then and still intrigue me today are women who break the rules, do things their own way. As much as they are strong and powerful and smart, they’re happy to admit they love fashion.”

In fact, Steinem herself was among the famous faces sat on his front row, alongside Kate Hudson, Katie Holmes, Lisa Rinna, Lily Aldridge, Alan Cumming and Jourdan Dunn.

The clothes were rooted in the era: swishing bonded suede fringe mini dresses were worn with snakeskin belts and boots, while spray-on sequin jumpsuits came with Abba-style mega flares. Chunky agate jewellery, fringed suede clutch bags came and the return of an excellent (and Gen Z-friendly) low-slung leather buckle belt that Kors first released in 2001 adhered to his mantra that “accessories should change your outfit, change your proportions and change your spirit.”

An oyster double faced cashmere cape worn over a tonal stretch cashmere bodysuit was a sophisticated approach to conceal and reveal. “I love the idea of bareness underneath and the cloak of security over,” said Kors, who styled several manly floor-skimming coats (a major trend this season) over mini skirts and dresses with bare legs, and boots with every look — “people have a fast life, they need to move.”

Highlights were a traffic-stopping white shaggy shearling coat crafted from an intarsia of different shaved patches that could have been pulled right from Cher’s early tour wardrobe, and a grey tailored wool coat with matching grey wool maxi skirt, styled with a knit grey bralette.

“The best thing for me is seeing the ideas come to life on the street,” said Kors, a New Yorker who’s been designing clothes in the city for 42 years and counting. “I want to make real clothes that people pull from their closet for years to come.” Mission most definitely accomplished.

Click through the gallery above for the best looks from Michael Kors AW23