Show Tunes and Martinis at a Party for Michael Kors

New York Times

04-02-2025

When Michael Kors was still just a teenager from Long Island, he got a beguiling glimpse of Manhattan when he sneaked into a Bobby Short performance at the Café Carlyle on the Upper East Side. Years later, he opened his first store right across the street.
On Monday night, Mr. Kors, who started his clothing label more than 40 years ago, was back at Bemelmans, the Carlyle's piano bar, to toast the opening of his new Michael Kors Collection flagship store on Madison Avenue.
As red-jacketed bartenders poured martinis, the dimly lit room filled with celebrities including Katie Holmes, Alan Cumming, Sutton Foster and Iman. Seated at a small table, Mr. Kors reflected on his journey in American fashion — or at least along Madison Avenue. His new store is his third on the high-end stretch of this boulevard.
'There's still nowhere else like Madison Avenue,' Mr. Kors, 65, said. 'Italians speak of 'la passeggiata,' the daily stroll, and that's what happens on Madison Avenue. Everyone is fabulously dressed, even to walk their dog. I can't imagine not having a store here.'
'Good things for me have always happened at the Carlyle,' he added. 'Tonight isn't just about celebrating my new store but all the women who bring my clothes to life.'
He considered the identity of the Michael Kors customer.
'She's never been an age,' he said. 'She's never been a size. What she is is self-aware, smart, opinionated and always looking ahead.'
As the night carried on, his guests took a moment to describe who, exactly, the Kors woman was.
'She's me,' said Patti Hansen, one of the first supermodels, who was sitting next to her daughter Theodora Richards. 'Michael designs for the classic American woman, and that's who I am.'
Hanging out by the bar, Nicky Hilton Rothschild weighed in.
'She's stylish and she's chic and she's not a slave to trends,' she said. 'That's because Michael is timeless. I still own my old boogie bags that he designed back when he was at Celine.'
The actress Jane Krakowski pulled out her phone to play a YouTube clip of a 1970s commercial for Charlie, a once-popular Revlon fragrance.
'When I think of the Michael Kors woman, I think of the 'je ne sais quoi' of the Charlie girl,' Ms. Krakowski said. 'I think of the model in those commercials, how she had all the confidence in the world. Just look at her, living her jet-set life.'
The room fell quiet when Mr. Cumming placed his martini on the piano at the start of his cabaret performance.
'It's so lovely to be surrounded by kindness tonight,' he said, 'because I just got back to this country, and I've found that kindness is not as prevalent as it used to be. But you know what I think the best way to deal with lack of kindness is? It's to be even kinder, to be even kinder to the people in our society right now who need it the most.'
When the pianist, Henry Koperski, played the opening notes of the Stephen Sondheim classic 'The Ladies Who Lunch,' Mr. Cumming declared that it was 'maybe a little ballsy' to sing that one in this particular room. Fans in the crowd cheered, well aware that the song was a longtime signature piece for Elaine Stritch, a regular performer at the Carlyle who lived in the hotel upstairs for many years.
As the party wound down, old friends lined up for goodbye kisses with Mr. Kors, while others — Julianna Margulies, Cristin Milioti, Nicole Scherzinger — lingered over their drinks.
Taking her leave into the chilly night was Iman, who wore a Michael Kors outfit of a gold trench coat and gold lace pants, along with a necklace that read 'David' in honor of her late husband, David Bowie. She recalled Mr. Kors' first runway show in 1984, during which she was one of the models.
'He was just starting off, but I could already tell he was going to be big,' she said. 'Because he already knew the most important thing about fashion, which is that he knew what women want. He's always dressed the woman as she wants to see herself.'