Michael Kors. A staple and iconic name in the fashion industry. Even if you don’t own a Michael Kors piece yourself, you have definitely heard his name before. Over the years, Michael Kors has expanded to include menswear, accessories, handbags, and fragrances, generating a total revenue of $3.88 billion for the fiscal year of 2023.  

As part of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund (SLFF) collaborating with Washington University, Kors came to talk at the Graham Memorial Chapel as guest speaker on April 1.  Susan Sherman, the co-founder of SLFF, explained the process of how selecting Kors came to fruition. 

“Every year, we meet together with WashU to decide what the students will like and if there is a takeaway the audience can leave with. I mean, Kors is iconic, no?”

Moderating the talk with Kors was Derek Blasberg, YouTube’s Head of Fashion and Beauty, who is also well recognized for several works in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Gagosian Gallery, as well as CNN Style. 

When asked what fashion means to him, Blasberg said, “Fashion is a language. It is a way of communicating, and it says a lot about who you are as a person.”

Blasberg began the conversation by asking Kors his first memory of being interested in fashion. “I was one of those kids who was glued to the TV 24/7 or sketching endlessly. I would sketch houses and cars, but fashion came up over and over again. My family was not only supportive of my passion, but excited. I grew up with a lot of sisters, so they were always happy with more clothes,” he said. 

These sketches soon turned into profit.  “I sold my first sketches to a friend’s father who manufactured jeans. He bought three sketches, each for 200 dollars.”

In 1981, Kors established the brand Michael Kors. In 1984, Kors had his first show at New York City’s Bergdorf Goodman. In 1998, Kors partnered with Celine and created his first ready-to-wear women’s clothing line. As Kors continued to climb higher and higher in his fashion career, he had a steady mindset and goal of what he wanted to accomplish. 

“Today there is such an impatience. A lot of people want to jump right into it. On the other hand, I wanted to take it slow, making sure I built my clientele and had reasoning behind [each project],” Kors said. 

Delving into the design process, Kors also highlighted his time as a judge on the Emmy-nominated show “Project Runway.” While hesitant at first, Kors ultimately decided to join the show and ended up staying for over 10 seasons, from 2004 to 2012. 

“Fashion is like a cake. When you look at the dry ingredients, you think how do you make a cake out of this? That’s why the show was such a success.”

When asked how his own design process has changed, Kors replied simply. “I am more decisive. I know if I like a white t-shirt or not, instead of mulling over it for several hours.”

Opening up about his friendship with Kors in an interview, Blasberg chuckled and said, “I’ve known Kors for a very long time and our biggest hurdle is to stay on topic and keep it short.” Thus, towards the end of the talk, Blasberg redirected the conversation to highlight some of Kors’ philanthropic endeavors. In 2012, Kors received the Golden Heart Lifetime Achievement Award by God’s Love We Deliver, a non-profit organization that distributes fresh meals to people living with HIV/AIDS and other diagnoses, which he has been involved with for over 20 years. 

“I had an incredible gift of knowing what I wanted to do. I feel very blessed and at the peak of the AIDs crisis, I didn’t have money, but I wanted to work with them. With a global business, I understand that hunger is a global problem. Together, with the help of social media, we have served over 30 million meals.”

Concluding the event, Saint Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones came on stage and announced that April 1 would now be officially recognized as Michael Kors Day.  The day not only celebrates the achievements of a fashion icon, but also his contributions towards supporting initiatives that address world hunger, education, and LGBTQ+ rights.

“It’s wonderful when your fantasy becomes reality,” Kors said.