The women who inspire Michael Kors

Nostalgic after a 42-year career, American designer Michael Kors set off to explore what inspired him "when (he) grew up in the 1970s".

First there is a place, the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York, where the parade was held, once "a mixture of glamor and bohemian".

And women of his generation, from Yoko Ono to Tina Turner, from Gloria Steinem to Jane Fonda, or even Aretha Franklin, whom he describes as follows: "They do not follow the rules, they follow their path and even if they are strong , powerful and intelligent, they are happy to love fashion".

Michael Kors' fall-winter 2023 collection show, at New York Fashion Week, February 15, 2023 © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

Journalist, author and activist, Gloria Steinem, 88, sat in the front row and the designer paid tribute to this feminist icon, also appreciated for her style, with a belt reminiscent of those she wore.

The accessory looped back to enhance close-fitting dresses ending in fringe or a mini-short jumper and boots set wrapped in a long coat.

Michael Kors' fall-winter 2023 collection show, at New York Fashion Week, February 15, 2023 © ANGELA WEISS / AFP

"The + Awards + season", especially the Oscars, "is coming and we know we're going to be bored because everyone will be wearing the same thing all the time", he quipped.

"The women you remember are wearing different outfits to parties, but it doesn't have to be Instagram madness," he added.

On her catwalk, that meant a model walking the runway in a skin-tight sequined gold jumpsuit, under a long cashmere coat.

Gabriela Hearst soothes

The American-Uruguayan Gabriela Hearst continues to draw her inspiration from non-conformist, pioneering women who were often ignored or discredited during their lifetime.

After the ancient Greek poet Sappho, one of the first feminists in history, for her previous collection, she highlighted on Tuesday the Irish artist and architect Eileen Gray, who had paved the way for the modernist movement in the 1920s.

The Gabriela Hearst fashion show at New York Fashion Week, February 14, 2023 © Ed JONES / AFP

The influence appears in the straight and functional cuts of jackets, trousers or long coats in recycled cashmere.

A red bag or a very fine leather coat, formed like a puzzle of small symmetrical panels, directly recalls a work by the artist, who lived 98 years (1878-1976) and still holds the record for the most expensive at auction, an art deco dragon armchair sold for 21.9 million euros in 2009. "She never experienced" this success "and like many women, she devalued herself and underestimated her excellence" , says in her collection note Gabriela Hearst, who brings her brand to life while being artistic director at Chloé.

The fantasy remains imbued with sobriety, as with this ivory cable-knit sweater dress, entrusted to the "Manos del Uruguay" cooperative.

The designer's favorite colours, golden yellow, red and black, are also back, matched in stripes on a ruana (a type of poncho) and skirt set.

The Gabriela Hearst fashion show at New York Fashion Week, February 14, 2023 © Ed JONES / AFP

Beneath the folk music of the group Sumbuck, a feeling of calm prevailed, like the elegant and sober lines of the outfits of the models parading in a huge warehouse in Brooklyn.

© 2023 AFP