The wisdoms of Michael Kors: 'Spend all your money on a fabulous black jacket'

I started my business in the 80s, when we got to the 90s, everything changed. Fashion in the 80s [was] very much an insider thing, fashion shows were only for fashion professionals. The public never saw them. Fashion had always felt so elitist. And then the 90s came, the models brought incredible personality and attention. Hollywood at the time was not particularly glamorous, so fashion became the place for people to get the glamour. I think it was the first time that we in fashion realised we were finally acknowledged to be part of pop culture.

The borders between countries disappeared. The next thing I know, I'm in Paris designing Celine, Galliano is at Givenchy and then Dior. It didn't matter if you were British or American, the Japanese were showing in Paris. We became this truly global influence. That wasn't the case before. As an American designer, I never thought that I would design a collection in Paris and be showing at the Louvre.

Today fashion is far more democratic. You don't have to live in a big city. You could live in the countryside in the middle of nowhere and watch my show. For The Thomas Crown Affair, I did most of Rene Russo’s wardrobe. I think it was the first time that adult women saw themselves on screen in a way that said, ‘You know what? You're over 30, you're still sexy, and you're still vital, and you're powerful.’ Without being the 80s joke of what a power woman was.

We've [now] got social media with a constant cycle. We could all use, once in a while, a minute to unplug and digest. I still read print, I still go to a cinema, I love the theatre.I want to be present. I think it's important. I don't want to live my life as an algorithm, and I don't think anyone should. When Gwyneth Paltrow won her Oscar. We had made her a Celine Michael Kors gown and we fit it. It was perfect. Ready to go. And I'm watching the Academy Awards and I see her leg get out of the car and it's pink. And I’m like ‘My dress is not pink’. We ended up being the runner up.

I was in London, at the theatre, and we walked out at interval I turned my phone on, and was like ‘Oh, my God. What's going on?’ I've got 9000 texts, my husband has 10,000 emails. What happened? Mrs. Obama had unveiled her first official portrait, and she was wearing Michael Kors. We had no idea. I had made the dress, but didn't really know what it was for. For me, it wasn't just strictly the honour of dressing her for such an important moment, it was the fact that how she was dressed and who she was, was just a game changer. American First Ladies before that, for a portrait, wore colourful suits with pearls and a brooch. Now suddenly we had someone in a sleeveless black jersey dress with a toned arm and a very different attitude. That was definitely momentous.

I know I've done my job well when I see people not only wearing what I designed, but feeling good, living in it. Whether it's someone on a bus or on the street or a celebrity on the red carpet. I go to the airport and I count handbags. It's the validation that you did the right thing. People have so many choices. We're overwhelmed by choice. And when they choose something that you've put your heart and soul into, and you love, and they choose it. You know, we're doing something right.

If the rules stayed the same, it would be so boring. I've been doing this for 43 years, so you need the rules to change. I think all of the preconceived notions about what you wear for time of day, what you wear to the office, versus evening, age, size, season have changed… It's always been that if you live in London, you have to dress for five climates in one day. Well, now the world has to dress for five climates in one day. We use the same fabrics year round now.

Spend all your money on a fabulous black jacket. A beautifully tailored black jacket to go with everything from jeans to an evening dress. I'm white shirt obsessed, and outerwear that’s special, that's not utilitarian. Whether it's an embroidered coat or a beautiful double faced coat, something that makes even a tracksuit feel special. When you see someone put the right thing on their posture changes. It's not just about ‘Oh I need to take a great picture and post it.’ It's how you feel in what you put on, and I think it brings you joy, lifts your spirits. And maybe helps identify you.