Michael Kors is celebrating Broadway and his 40th anniversary at Times Square.
Michael Kors
The 61-year-old fashion designer will introduce his fall collection film in New York on Tuesday (20.04.21) morning at a pre-show, with special guests from the world of theatre, including Billy Porter and Chita Rivera.
The film stars supermodels Bella Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Precious Lee, Irina Shayk, and many more.
A lifelong fan of Broadway, Kors wanted to channel the "opening-night feeling", and has opened up about missing going to the theatre amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
He told WWD: “The heartbeat of New York is the Theatre District, and to see it just stopped was hard to comprehend because New York doesn’t stop.
"It’s about that opening-night feeling ... I want everyone to have this fabulous night out where you have an amazing dinner and drinks at Sardi’s, with theatre history oozing out of the walls, then you hit the street, strut your stuff and show off. And you get to go into a temple of live performance and see Rufus Wainwright performing."
On the industry re-opening again and shooting the film, the designer explained: “It was overwhelming — being in the fashion community again, with people we have collaborated with forever, hair, make-up…models, it felt like this surreal party ... And being in Times Square at midnight, and seeing the energy return — and that’s without theatre and restaurants — it really shows you peoples’ pent-up desire.
“Last January when it was bitter cold, we went to dinner outside … I had mukluks on, it was insane. I ran into someone in the industry I haven’t seen in over a year, and she said, ‘Aren’t you itching to go to a bad dinner?’”
The fashion house and designer is also donating to The Actors Fund, a non-profit organisation that helps those working in film, theatre, television, music, and more with emergency financial assistance, affordable housing, health care, and much more.
He added: "It was important to support people behind the scenes, because they don’t have an exact date back ... So many people have had to leave town, to move home. We’ve seen that all around the world in every large city. Hopefully we can keep the talent because I think we will have a resurgence of young people wanting to bring back theatre and art and music and fashion.”
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