Michael Kors Spring 09

I honestly think Michael Kors could be the greatest , most American sportswear designer of this time. He's like Ralph, only with more attitude,like pre Calvin, but with less self consciousness,like Tommy Hilfiger who only wishes he had a snow ball's chance in Hell to be of Michael's caliber. You could go so far as to say he is all of the young American sportswear designers from before and present , only with consummate taste and range. Range is a stretch, you say, when season after season his collections look and feel like extensions of the one before. This is precisely what makes them so prescient, so advanced. Michael has taken a thread from 20 some odd years ago, go through terrific ups, downs and outs, and has held light to that thread and it is as strong as steel today. He has developed a vocabulary that speaks to every woman , and some men. When the press said he is the heir to Bill Blass, that's totally without question. He could be the heir to many other collections as well. He just has a gift . Celine was a walk in the park for him, and no one has done it better, certainly not Phoebe Philo.

That said, what happened this season with his spring collection? specifically for women. I saw it, and sat stymied through the whole show waiting for it to start. What was even stranger was that the menswear was like what the women's wear normally is....exciting, cohesive, coherent, crazy, luxe and clever. I wanted every last piece of the men's collection. It was so perfect.
The women looked so unconnected in the overall design scheme. You have to look at last fall's collection with it's willy nilly mix of disparate pieces all working together like a glorious concerto. It was musical and harmonious and fabulous. This time there was a hum, just not a tune one could follow.

Granted there were some beautiful clean, simple drop dead columns in heavenly colors. Simplicity is his answer to every question. lots of graphic twists of multi colored stripes and over sized coordinating dots. All was in order, just collectively not memorable. Everyone has good and less good collections. He's human like the rest and it's not big deal. What made it so stark an impression was the fact that the men always act as foils to the women. This time they stole the show.

Personally, I think the Project Runway gig is screwing with his head. He's losing his sense of humor and grip on reality by staying in bed with the Cretins who people that show. His humor is gone, he's insulting, officious and crude. To tell another designer that his model looks as though she's pooping fabric, is really a signal that all is not right in his world. Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia , Tim Gunn and the rest of the LOSERS that RUN that regrettable show have started to infect him with their small minded, self aggrandizing bullshit... and I'm not including the hapless contestants. My suggestion is to get off that train wreck of an UN-reality show and just do what you do best. Give us a reason to shop, to look great, to Feel good about ourselves.

Don't crawl in the slime pond with those who have nothing left... or nothing better to do. Karma is a powerful thing.