Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Courtesy of Ashlyn, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera
On Thursday night, Michael Kors marked a milestone — 45 years in the rag trade — in a New York kind of way: He showed his latest collection on the Grand Tier of the Metropolitan Opera, before the Chagall murals, and then invited everyone to P.J. Clarke’s across the street. “A hamburger and a martini!” a jubilant Kors said on his way into the bar.
Even when his career was in the dumps, many years ago, and he seemed on the verge of losing it, Kors was enthralled with New York, the image of women in slacks and a turtleneck, the dinner suit, and the opening night gown in red silk knotted simply on one shoulder. When asked if the anniversary had influenced the designs of this collection, Kors said not really. “The only thing I thought was, I’ve had this long career, and it’s so New York to be resilient. You go down, you come up, you keep going. What is the connective thread in the work? I think the best clothes for me are a dichotomy.”
That’s not just rhetoric. The show was an exemplary display of know-how and timing. Nearly every look felt Korsian in cut and color — the abundance of black and cream, charcoal and camel, the punch of deep red — but also contemporary. Among the first looks in the show were a single-button black blazer with a lightly flounced black skirt that was longer in the back, and a fabulous oversize dark-gray sweater worn with a gray wool sarong skirt and a black feathery beret. Both outfits looked fresh — in ease and silhouette. And there’s a lot of great knitwear around this season. Kors does it in an effortless American sportswear way. And he showed nearly every look with low-heeled pumps, another touch that seemed at once New York, in the Delman tradition, and new.
From left: Photo: Courtesy of Michael KorsPhoto: Courtesy of Michael Kors
From top: Photo: Courtesy of Michael KorsPhoto: Courtesy of Michael Kors
Kors kept up the dichotomy without belaboring it. Here was a black feathered tee-top on the model Julia Nobis with tailored black pants. Now a rangy, good-looking charcoal pantsuit with a mulberry turtleneck and a matching scarf. Here a woman who’s a little beyond fashion in a speckled gray tweed masculine coat over a dark crewneck and a French blue shirt, and worn with full-cut, creamy wool trousers. Now a black leather spy coat with a wide collar.
From left: Photo: Courtesy of Michael KorsPhoto: Courtesy of Michael Kors
From top: Photo: Courtesy of Michael KorsPhoto: Courtesy of Michael Kors
From left: Photo: Courtesy of Michael KorsPhoto: Courtesy of Michael Kors
From top: Photo: Courtesy of Michael KorsPhoto: Courtesy of Michael Kors
He finished things off with evening clothes that were glamorous but not overtly feminine. Though I think my favorite look was a simple deep-red shell with a long draped back worn with fluid pants and long leather gloves.
Photo: Courtesy of Michael Kors
I could have stayed for a second show had there been one, and if Kors had presented the clothes on the plaza at Lincoln Center, the effect would have been the same. What was that effect, exactly? Watching the show, I thought of Marc Jacobs’s recent collection, and his commanding ability to retrace certain ideas and influences of his and find newness. Kors also did that. In his own way, he makes you want to be that woman, or one of the variety of women the styles represented. That’s experience. For me, that was the main effect last night at the opera.
Wes Gordon also put on a smart show, for Carolina Herrera, centered around female artists. The initial spark came from photos of the heiress and collector Peggy Guggenheim, whose uncle, Solomon Guggenheim, established the museum. Those images got Gordon’s wheels spinning. He said, “I was inspired by women in the world of art, whether she’s a painter, a sculptor, a collector, or a curator … And I wanted the set to feel like a studio visit.” Hence, the mismatched chairs for the audience and murals done by Sarah Oliphant, a well-known maker of photographic backdrops.
Among the seven artists walking were Amy Sherald, Ming Smith, Eliza Douglas, and Rachel Feinstein, whose daughter, Flora, also modeled and whose husband, the painter John Currin, was in the crowd.
From left: Photo: Jonas Gustavsson/Courtesy of Carolina HerreraPhoto: Jonas Gustavsson/Courtesy of Carolina Herrera
From top: Photo: Jonas Gustavsson/Courtesy of Carolina HerreraPhoto: Jonas Gustavsson/Courtesy of Carolina Herrera
It was intriguing to see how Gordon drew on the eccentricity of Peggy Guggenheim, the ultimate art patron (she once sewed a lover’s pubic hairs to a bedsheet), and also grounded it, with a neat black cape; a dark leopard jacquard for both a cocoon coat and a tube skirt; a square-necked column in textured black tweed embroidered at the hem and straps with flowers (inspired by Sherald’s work), and a terrific plain coat — or coat dress — embroidered all over in tiny gold sequins and crystal. Agnes Martin’s paintings were the source.
The shows on Thursday saw two youngish designers, Colleen Allen and Ashlynn Park, make a significant leap forward. Park, the winner of the 2025 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize, really delved into her somewhat architectural shapes and cozy textures, with layered knits and tweeds in black, cream, and acid yellow. Her clothes now have far more depth and range than they did even just a few years ago, and her closing look, an audacious bride, with a sweeping, open-back gown in structured cream wool-silk taffeta over full-cut trousers, was stunning.
From left: Photo: Courtesy of AshlynPhoto: Courtesy of Ashlyn
From top: Photo: Courtesy of AshlynPhoto: Courtesy of Ashlyn
Allen’s advance is remarkable, considering that a couple of years ago she was showing a handful of delicate vintage-inspired frocks and tops in a dingy loft on Canal Street. This season, she moved to Crosby Street, and with it, a richer, fuller collection that included a witty and lovely long shirtdress in striped cotton with a bustle back (she did the same style in a black cotton velvet woven with metal, to give the plush fabric more depth) and a superbly done tailored suit in gray with a collar you can softly tie or let loose. The fit and quality of that suit, which will be priced around $3,800, is second to none.
From left: Photo: Courtesy of Colleen AllenPhoto: Colleen Allen
From top: Photo: Courtesy of Colleen AllenPhoto: Colleen Allen
Photo: Colleen Allen
Allen’s clothes still reflect her fascination with historical dress, notably Victorian things, and, as well, with the passage of time, expressed in a fragile black evening top that deliberately looks worn. But her aesthetic comes through more strongly now as Allen fleshes out her world with more styles, including velvet separates and sweaters with enveloping scarves, and invites you in.
The day ended late, in Chelsea, with another female voice, maybe the strongest — that of Elena Velez, who once (memorably) staged a runway show as mud fight in Brooklyn and later held her version of a literary salon. In a way, though, one has been waiting for Velez to get real. I’ve nearly always admired her guts and anger, her amazing dissatisfaction with things, and her sense of freedom.
From left: Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesPhoto: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
From top: Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesPhoto: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
But fashion is inevitably about making clothes that reach the street and in a coherent way, even if the designs push all kinds of political and sexual buttons. Velez has now come close to that promise, with a collection that remains mean in spirit and yet is more commercial, with broken black knits, some very cool treatments of the corseted body in black leather, a great jumpsuit in what looked like dyed and scuffed cotton twill with a slit in front, and an oily looking strapless party dress in what looked like melted black plastic.
Oh, to see that nasty number on the Oscars red carpet. Between her broken corsets and her novel jeans alone, Velez has plenty of ideas.