Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr.; August 9, 1959)[2] is an American fashion designer. He is the honorary chairman and chief creative officer of his brand[3], Michael Kors, which sells men’s and women’s and ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear and fragrance. Kors was the first women’s ready-to-wear designer for the French house Celine, from 1997 to 2003.[4] On January 2, 2019 Michael Kors Holdings Limited officially changed its name to Capri Holdings Limited (NYSE: CPRI)[5]. Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo and Versace are the three founder-led brands under Capri Holdings Limited.
Kors was born as Karl Anderson Jr. [7] on Long Island. Kors’ mother is Jewish; his father was of Swedish descent.[7][8][9][10] His parents are Joan Hamburger, a former model, and her first husband, Karl Anderson Sr., a college student.[11][12][13] His mother married Bill Kors, when her son was five, and his surname was changed to Kors. His mother told Karl that he could choose a new first name as well and he renamed himself Michael David Kors.[13] He grew up in Merrick, New York and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York, on Long Island.
Kors married his partner, Lance Le Pere, on August 16, 2011, in Southampton, New York, in The Hamptons.
Kors’ affinity for fashion started when he was very young. His mother thought his affinity might have been caused in part by his exposure to the apparel industry through her modeling career.[15] Michael, at the age of five, even redesigned his mother’s wedding dress for her second marriage.[16] As a teen, Kors began designing clothes and selling them out of his parents’ basement, which he renamed the Iron Butterfly.[15] Kors also took acting lessons when he was young, but stopped when he was 14 when he decided to focus on becoming a fashion designer.[17]
In 1977, he enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.[18] However, he dropped out after only nine months and took a job at a boutique called Lothar’s across from Bergdorf Goodman on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, where he started as a salesperson and went on to become both the designer and visual display head for the store. Shortly after, Dawn Mello, the fashion director at Bergdorf’s, discovered Kors. She asked if he would show his collection to Bergdorf Goodman’s buyers.[19]
In 1981, Kors launched his Michael Kors women’s label at Bergdorf Goodman. In 1990, the company launched KORS Michael Kors as a licensee. A Chapter 11 filing in 1993, caused by the closure of the licensing partner for KORS Michael Kors, forced him to put the KORS line on hold. He got back on his feet by 1997 and launched a lower priced line and at the same time was named the first women’s ready-to-wear designer for French house Celine.[20] In his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashion house around with successful accessories and a critically acclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors left Celine in October 2003 to concentrate on his own brand. Kors launched his menswear line in 2002.
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