Michael Kors Captures the Current Moment for His Spring 2021 Collection

This is luxury dressing ready to face an ongoing pandemic.

All the way back in April, when the Covid-19 pandemic was still racing through New York and smashing through the fashion industry in the process, Michael Kors told WWD‘s Bridget Foley that he was spending his days Zooming with clients.

“A lot of the women [in the P.A. sessions] were not in the cities where they normally would be. These are urban people in country, beach or suburban settings,” he explained. “So my brand now is thinking, how do we combine all of this? Because we’re not giving up our way of thinking as urban people. We can’t.”

And for Michael Kors Collection Spring 2021, he didn’t.

In “Up on the Roof” — a short documentary of the making of this collection that aired just before the pre-taped, digital runway — Kors elaborated on the themes he first established with Foley back in that April interview: reconnecting with nature in the middle of a crisis and creating things his customers can love for another 20 years.

Spring 2021 is all about watching spring “come into bloom” in the city, with a dose of that indefatigable Kors optimism, and taking that inspiration to make things that feel “artisanal.” That translated beautifully into simple, but clearly well-made clothes that would be just as appropriate walking down a city street to fetch a coffee and the morning paper as they would taking a relaxed Zoom call with your favorite fashion designer in your garden in the Hamptons. (The Michael Kors Collection customer is, after all, quite rich.) The color palette is simple and the shapes easy: crisp white oversized blazers, free-flowing blue-striped shirtdresses, thick cream-colored knits, perfectly-draped Grecian gowns in shades of mocha. There are also updates to Kors classics — those elusive “perfect” wardrobe items you never get rid of, like a gorgeously-cut camel trench, leather slides that will only look better with age, louche black pants that go from day to night with a few accessory changes.

“We’ve got to be open to new ideas, new ways of doing things, new ways of thinking about things,” Kors says, “Up on the Roof.” “I’ve designed this season with more intent and more thought that I’ve ever done.” That shows in the end result: With the noise of trend-chasing and fashion week flash removed, it’s Kors at his very best. He should be applauded for adapting so beautifully to the current moment.

See the complete Michael Kors Collection Spring 2021 line in the gallery below: