NYFW: Michael Kors unveils collection for any season

NEW YORK—Michael Kors introduced his fall/winter collection at New York Fashion Week on Wednesday, but he’d like to see people wearing the pieces in the summer and spring too.

“Certainly my customers, because they travel and they’re busy, they wear sandals in the winter, they wear boots in the summer,” Kors told USA TODAY before his New York Fashion Week show at Spring Studio. “So they don’t even actually think of things in a seasonal way anymore. They just layer accordingly and they’re ready to go.”

Hence, the powder blue floral mink jacket, wisteria coat, floral print sleeveless blouse, and skin-baring short skirts and dresses with slits.

“We’re showing spring colors for winter, and we’re mixing tweeds with flowers,” he says. “That’s really what personal style is, knowing yourself and breaking the rules.”

Kors is breaking the rules in another way: He’s made many of the new pieces available immediately at MichaelKors.com and at his Madison Avenue store in New York.

“We have a lot of customers who, I think, are certainly curious as soon as the show goes up,” he says. “You can buy a fabulous leopard bootie and you can buy a great cashmere cardigan when in fact, there are no boots and cardigans in the stores now and it’s still cold.”

Kors says he drew inspiration for the collection from female icons such as Diana Ross and Catherine Deneuve and more contemporary superstars such as Zendaya and Blake Lively, who sat front row at the show.

He called them “women who love fashion and are really individualistic in their style.”

“All of these women have fun with it,” he says. “I wanted this to be flirty and fun, so you see a lot of short hemlines, a lot of things that also move when you walk, so lots of feathers, lots of streamers and slits and wraps. Even the bags, they all move, they all have chains.”

Metallics that can be worn by day or night are also popular in the collection.

Model Kendall Jenner wore a sexy silver floral metallic embroidered brocade dress.

There were fun pairings like an indigo tweed skirt with a moss fox-trimmed coat and a pearl gray cashmere hoodie with a white embroidered tank dress.

Accessories include Mary Jane pumps with a chunky heel and square toe embellished with silver-tone studs. Kors also introduced new bags such as a slim envelope shoulder bag made from leopard print calf hair. It has a polished lock and chain-link shoulder strap.

Besides Lively, other celebrities in the audience included actresses Olivia Munn, Jennifer Hudson, and Naomie Harris.

Munn wore a pale yellow mini-dress with a ruffled skirt.

“Every time Michael picks a favorite for me it ends up being my favorite too,” she said backstage.

Harris, who appeared in the movie “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” wore a black and white floral dress with a cutout section below her chest.

“It’s very classic but with a kind of modern twist with this cutout section,” she said. “It’s sexy and there’s a timeless quality to it as well.”

Lively wore a beige lace fitted dress with sparkles.

“I love that it’s new and it’s like a second skin but it has beautiful embellishments and texture,” she said.

Lively said Kors was the first designer to welcome her into the New York City fashion world.

"It’s nice to continue that friendship and see his collections evolve," she said. "Even though he’s been for years at the top of his game, he still evolves and changes."

Kors himself agreed. This fall collection marks his 35th.

“Fashion is about change,” says. “If you would have told me 10 years ago that we’d close our show with a girl wearing a sweatshirt, I’d say no way. And you wouldn’t think 20 years ago that women would wear bare legs in the winter. But the rules change. So now how we show it and buy it will also kind of shift. I don’t know if it’s a revolution. It’s an evolution.”