Michael Kors loves a good resort—and thinks politics and fashion make good bedfellows

Michael Kors has impeccable timing. When he planned his show date for his Spring/Summer 2025 collection fashion show, he couldn’t have known it would fall on the eve of the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. That the two events coincided was kismet for the designer, who has been dressing Harris for several years and is keenly aware of the fashion pitfalls that plague female candidates.

“Is the election the new red carpet?” Kors joked to a group of foreign journalists at a press conference the day before the show, adding, “It’s very difficult for women in political office to find the balance, especially if you love fashion. If you love it too much, they will say something, and if you don’t love it enough, they will say something, but we hope to continue to dress the Vice President,” Kors added.
 
Having gotten close to being the designer to dress Gwyneth Paltrow when she won an Oscar for ‘Shakespeare in Love’, Kors knows better than to wager any future dressing opportunities.

“When I think of male politicians who we have seen over the years and thought was well dressed, you notice the person hopefully, or you notice impeccable tailoring,” Kors suggested, noting that President Obama wearing a khaki suit one hot summer day caused the press to go into a tizzy.
 
“No one saw a president dressed like that. She doesn’t need to steer the wheel to that degree; she knows herself and what works for her,” he said of Harris.

While Kors’ collection of ‘city-meets-the resort’ vibes may have plenty of motifs probably not suitable for a ranking female politician – plunging bustier tops, short shorts, bra tops, and sheer lacy skirts-the designer showed a serious outing that had plenty to offer, even a high-ranking female in any industry.
 
To commemorate his 35th year of working with Italian artisans and in a nod to some of Kors most favorite places on earth, aka Capri, Positano, or anywhere along the Amalfi Coast, the designer leaned into craft such as weaving, leather fringes, opulent, intricate layered floral appliques, and laces. Large boulder-style rock sculptures dotted the runway to evoke the Italian coastline.
 
“Everyone I know wants to live in a resort if they could. The city’s sophistication and the resort’s mood and attitude allow you to do both. You are either more relaxed in a city or more polished in a resort,” he suggests, adding, “People crave escape from the city.”

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To put the attention on the handiwork, the designer decided to forgo his usually upbeat show soundtrack and lean into something a bit more serious and ominous, a custom soundtrack by Sebastien Perrin. It was perhaps more in tune with another of the show’s influences, the current ‘Ripley’ directed by Steven Zaillian and starring Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning, which leans into Kors’ love of vintage a la the 1950s and resort dressing.

“The world is upside down everywhere. I don’t necessarily think that everything was perfect during these other decades, but people want to feel romance still exists. Ripley, this time is dark. Twenty-five years ago, it was perfected and glossed. This time, they looked like real people,” he added.
 
The show’s black-and-white format also informed the collection.

“It’s a new way to do black. After that, I found out that the show was originally filmed in color for Showtime, but the director wanted it in black and white, so it switched to Netflix. The images in different images different spots of the shoot Ischia and Positano changes in black and white versus color for a whole different perspective,” he explained. He also noted that another favorite source of inspiration, Herb Ritts, preferred the grayscale, color-free scheme in his work.
 
Indeed, save for some bits of palm and olive green and a dash of brown, tan, and navy, the collection was also predominantly black and white, allowing the texture and other details to stand out. (Even the shoes and bags had added texture, woven and leather raffia details, especially a new K-shaped handbag or kitten-heel mules).

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As for Kamala’s next Kors looks, some stealthy contenders might be a black-and-white retro tweed belted jacket and A-line skirt suit, an all-white pantsuit ensemble, or even a textured brown off-the-shoulder cocktail dress or a sleeveless belted vest worn with a long chiffon skirt for a formal evening event.
 
Kors hasn’t been shy about his political views. He was front and center at the recent Fashion For Our Future march.

“I wish in the States, it was like Europe, like Italy where you vote on a Sunday, and in many countries where it’s mandatory by law like Australia. Here in the States, you have to register; you have to do it, especially young people who procrastinate,” he told the foreign crowd at the conference.

“Hopefully, it reminded everyone that you have this right in a democracy. For fashion people, we are part of pop culture and not that dissimilar from film, theater, or art. If you follow fashion and are a procrastinator if you see us march, maybe you think it’s time to register,” he suggested.
 
As the designer said, the world is upside down. Between an American fashion giant and the NBC, which moderated the debate between Harris and Trump, hopefully, the decision to register and vote will be easier than deciding which flirty, fun, and retro-infused Kors offering to buy for spring.