"I am travel-crazed. I spend one third of the year on the road for business and personal travel, and I love it. Being a city boy, I love to escape to nature because it helps me think about colour and texture differently. This spring, for example, I was inspired by the texture and colour of South Africa. The challenge is to make the design modern. I did a major collection with no black because there is no black in Kruger National Park. It was a big deal because New York designers almost always have black in their collections."
Photography Mark Cornelison
2/5
"I love Italy in the summer. I go to Capri and Positano every year for a week. I’m also a fan of Beverly Hills. And I travel to Asia every year. I love Thailand, and am fascinated by Angkor Wat in Cambodia—it’s amazing to me that it exists—and I like the cleanliness of the design in Bali. India for sure is the next spot I have to hit, and there is more in South America I haven’t seen. Both destinations are full of culture and food and shopping that I want to explore."
Photography courtesy Michael Kors
3/5
"The best fashion pieces are like the best people in your life. You can rely on them, but you can also have a great time with them. I try to have both in my clothes by playing with detailing, fabric and colour. If a piece of clothing is a new fabric, a new silhouette and a new colour, chances are you’ll wear it only once. I like to think of my clothes as a combination of the traditional and trendy."
Photography courtesy Michael Kors
4/5
"In many of the places I visit, the markets are great for textiles, so I always buy a bunch. I also pick up local souvenirs. When I’m back in New York, I start developing a mood board, and the collection builds from there. I look at the pictures I took, then look at the fabric I bought and work with our textiles suppliers in France and Italy to get the right fabric. It keeps unfolding and comes to life like a baby. Except it takes 10 months, so it’s like a baby overdue."
Photography courtesy Michael Kors
5/5
"Fashion has become global thanks to the Internet. Women around the world can all see the same pieces; they’re not left behind if they’re not in a big city. What was once available only to those with access to the full range of retail stores is now available online through web sites and social media. The women who wear Michael Kors trust that they’ll be chic in my clothes no matter where they are in the world, and because they are travellers, that’s essential to them."
Photography courtesy Michael Kors
There’s not a fashion need Michael Kors can’t meet. Whether it’s dressing celebrities for the red carpet in his timeless gowns, creating classic everyday sportswear, or turning out fashion-forward accessories and clothes for men and women who like to stay on the front end of trends, the 52-year-old designer does it all. His two lines—the upscale Michael Kors and the more affordable MICHAEL Michael Kors—made him a star, but his fame rose to another level when he became a judge on the Bravo television show Project Runway in the U.S. When his Hong Kong–based, three-decade-old company went public in December, he moved even further into the limelight. Kors, who has more than 230 eponymous stores worldwide, says that travel is the foundation for his work. In a recent interview with Four Seasons Magazine, he spoke about how his global travels inspire his designs, which destination is next on his must-visit list and what wardrobe essentials he wishes every woman would pack.
