Michael Kors loves a good resort and believes politics and fashion are good bedfellows

Michael Kors has impeccable timing. When he planned the date of his spring/summer 2025 show, he couldn’t have known that 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 a coincidence for the designer, who has dressed Harris for several years and is well aware of the fashion issues affecting female candidates.

“Are elections the new red carpet?” Kors joked to a group of foreign journalists at a news conference the day before the show, adding: “It's very difficult for women in political office to find balance, especially if you love fashion. If you love it too much, they'll say something, and if you don't love it enough, they'll say something, but we look forward to continuing to dress the vice president.”

Having come close to becoming the designer who dressed Gwyneth Paltrow when she won an Oscar for 'Shakespeare in Love,' Kors knows better than to risk any future opportunities as a designer.

“When I think of male politicians we've seen over the years who we thought were well dressed, we look at the person with hope, or we look at impeccable tailoring,” Kors suggested, noting that President Obama wearing a khaki suit on a hot summer day sent the press into a tizzy.

“No one has ever seen a president dressed like that. She doesn't need to be at the wheel to that extent; she knows herself and she knows what works for her,” he said of Harris.

While Kors's city-resort-esque collection may have had plenty of motifs that are unlikely to be suitable for a high-ranking female politician (plunging necklines, cropped trousers, bra tops and sheer lace skirts), the designer showed a serious proposition that had plenty to offer, even for a high-ranking woman in any industry.

To commemorate its 35th anniversaryHe After a year working with Italian artisans and in a nod to some of Kors’ favorite places on Earth — like Capri, Positano or anywhere along the Amalfi Coast — the designer leaned into craftsmanship like knitting, leather fringe, opulent and intricate layered floral appliqués and lace. Large pebble-style stone sculptures dotted the runway to evoke the Italian coastline.

“Everyone I know would want to live in a resort if they could. The sophistication of the city and the atmosphere and attitude of the resort allows you to do both. You're either more relaxed in a city or more refined in a resort,” he suggests, adding: “People long to escape the city.”

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To keep the focus on the craftsmanship, the designer decided to forgo his usual upbeat show soundtrack in favor of something a little more serious and sinister, a custom soundtrack by Sébastien 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, 1950s-style and resort wear.

“The world is turned upside down everywhere. I don't necessarily think everything was perfect during those other decades, but people want to feel like romance still exists. Ripley, this time is dark. Twenty-five years ago, it was perfected and polished. This time, they seemed like real people,” she added.

The black and white format of the show also influenced the collection.

“It's a new way of doing noir. After that, I learned that the show was originally shot in color for Showtime, but the director wanted it in black and white, so they moved it to Netflix. The footage in different locations on the shoot of Ischia and Positano switches from black and white to color for a completely different perspective,” he explained. He also noted that another favorite source of inspiration, Herb Ritts, preferred the grayscale, no-color scheme in his work.

In fact, except for some pops of palm and olive green and a splash of brown, tan and navy, the collection was also predominantly black and white, allowing texture and other details to stand out. (Even shoes and bags had added texture, woven raffia and leather details, especially a new K-shaped clutch or stiletto-heeled mules.)

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As for Kamala's next Kors looks, some stealth contenders could be a retro black-and-white belted tweed skirt and jacket suit, an all-white pantsuit ensemble, or even a textured brown off-the-shoulder cocktail dress or a sleeveless belted vest worn with a chiffon maxi skirt for a formal evening event.

Kors has not been shy about expressing his political views. He was the star of the recent Fashion For Our Future march.

“I hope that in the United States it will be like in Europe, like in Italy, where people vote on Sundays, and in many countries where it is mandatory by law, like in Australia. Here in the United States, you have to register, you have to do it, especially young people who put things off,” he told the foreign crowd attending the conference.

“I hope this has reminded everyone that they have this right in a democracy. For fashion lovers, we are part of pop culture and we are not so different from cinema, theatre or art. If you follow fashion and are one of those who procrastinate, if you see us marching, you might think it's time to register,” she suggested.

As the designer said, the world is upside down. Between an American fashion giant and NBC, which moderated the Harris-Trump debate, let's hope the decision to register and vote is easier than deciding which flirty, fun, retro Kors offering to buy for spring.