Jet-setting with Michael Kors

Michael Kors launched the biggest fashion event his company has ever undertaken in Shanghai — at the 30,000-square-foot jet hangar at Hongqiao Airport. This coincides with the opening of the first flagship store in Asia, at the Jing An Kerry Centre.

SHANGHAI, China — “When I was in Manila, I saw the street sign N. Garcia, and I told the driver to stop. I took a photo of it and sent it to Nina Garcia, and said, ‘You’re so chic, they named a street after you in Manila!’” Michael Kors chuckles at the memory of one of his visits to the Philippine capital and his exchange with his (former) Project Runway costar.

We were at the Peninsula Shanghai for an afternoon chat with the American designer, whom Forbes named “Fashion’s Newest Billionaire” earlier this year.

He was back in Asia to set his sights even higher — to launch “The Michael Kors Jet Set Experience,” the biggest fashion event his company has ever staged, to coincide with the opening of his brand’s first flagship store in China — and in Asia — measuring a sprawling 6,000 square feet — at the Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai.

Surprisingly, it was the Long Island native’s first time in the mainland’s fashion capital. “There are two things that first struck me. Here, you have this architecture on The Bund that has real heritage … in the middle of Blade Runner. It’s just so extreme,” he shares. “I also love that when you walk the streets here, you can see what I call ‘style tribes.’ On the same street, you can see a very trendy girl next to a very ladylike woman next to someone who’s a real sex bomb, to a tomboy, to a goth girl with white eyebrows and white hair. I love seeing the mix, I never think it’s interesting if everyone looks or dresses the same, and I think people here definitely want to express.”

These contrasts are very much in line with the way Kors designs and his strong yin-and-yang philosophy. “All my clothes are a combination of practical, comfortable, glamorous, indulgent and always luxurious.”

Whatever the season, he designs with three qualities in mind: sporty, sexy and glam. Daywear is easy yet polished and can go from day to night, and evening-wear is often based on tank tops and T-shirts — glamorous yet sporty. “I want women to look fabulous but I also want them to be able to move and have fun when they’re out on the town.”

The fast life

This concern for movement and comfort is the reason why top celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Blake Lively, Karlie Kloss, and even US First Lady Michelle Obama remain part of his loyal clientele. Today, he is well aware of the fast-paced lifestyle that has encapsulated the world, and has launched a special Jet Set collection, which is inspired by “a silent escape, a chic mountain retreat and big-city glamour” to cater to this very pressing reality. “Now, even if you’re not getting on a plane or you’re not leaving your house, you’re traveling on the Web,” he says. “So everyone is living that quick life. So the way that I design, I design for someone who wants something that’s glamorous, sexy and indulgent but still comfortable, still easy, still practical. Because if you have a busy life, why not have it all?”

Kors is a jetsetter himself, having just come from the Met Gala in New York prior to Shanghai. After this event, he will be moving on to Milan and then finally Capri for a holiday.

Ready for takeoff

The Michael Kors Jet Set Experience was launched at a private 30,000-square-foot jet hangar at Hongqiao Airport. A private jet (owned by John Idol, chairman and CEO of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.) greeted the 1,000 VIP guests — which included Hollywood actresses Hilary Swank, Freida Pinto and Camilla Belle — and served as the most popular backdrop for photo-ops that evening. Michael Kors was ready for takeoff.

It was a one-of-a-kind, 360-degree interactive event that had holographic moving images brought to a live set. Photo booths that served as digital souvenirs for the evening were actually video booths. These were projected onto a 15,000-square-foot screen for all to see. Worldwide, fans were able to follow the event live at www.destinationkors.com/jetset, WeChat and global platforms following #MKShanghai. It was an event that united the 1,000 guests present and 17 million fans around the world.

No less than the world’s top supermodels Miranda Kerr, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Isabeli Fontana, Ming Xi, Shu Pei, Ji Hye, Tian Yi, and, of course, Karmen Pedaru, the face of Michael Kors, walked the runway, donning the exclusive Jet Set collection that ranged from evening gowns to swimsuits to fur-trimmed mountain resortwear.

As the models walked the finale to Donna Summers’ Last Dance, Kors emerged, holding Pedaru’s hand, to take a bow. As the disco ball dropped, silver balloons and confetti rained all over the venue à la Studio 54 (the era Kors grew up in), and the music transitioned to New York-based DJ collective The Misshapes, it was clear that only Michael Kors could command such stature, fusing the best of both of East and West in one of the world’s fashion capitals along the way. Yes, he definitely had it all.

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On May 12, Michael Kors released the MK360, a native (iOS and Android) mobile app, downloadable at www.destinationkors.com/jetset, which allows fans everywhere to experience the Michael Kors Jet Set Experience via an interactive 360-degree video of the event on their phones.

In the Philippines, Michael Kors is distributed by Stores Specialists Inc. (SSI). Boutiques are located at Power Plant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza, and Resorts World Manila.

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You can reach me at inbetweendeadlines@gmail.com, on my blog www.cheryltiu.com, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cherytliu or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/chertiu.