Number one, when I started, truly what we thought was global was selling one department store in London and maybe having a Japanese licensee. And what we thought was variation was designing clothes for a specific American city. Like how women in Chicago love gray. We need lots of color for Dallas! There were all these specifics, even within America, of how she dressed and what was appropriate. And also, what was appropriate for an age group. “That’s for clients in their 20s,” and “No one will go sleeveless if they’re over 35.” Even fabrics, the rules were so strict. Everyone was like, “You can’t have wool for spring. No way. Sandals? In the fall? Are you nuts?” And day for night, night for day? Nonexistent. My first Women’s Wear Daily show cover was “Day for Night,” and it was a gray flannel trouser with a gold lamé bathrobe, and a black cashmere robe thrown over it.WWD: What year?
M.K.: Probably ’84. At the time, you would say to a customer, “You could wear this during the day or at night.” And they would say, “You should wear something metallic during the day?” Now, I joke that we have women who work for me who wear cocktail dresses to the office. I have 70-year-old clients who wear bare clothes. And the democratization is so different. It used to be, if you had great taste, you were rich. Or you were a student. Now we have customers in their early 20s starting out in the workforce, and they’ve got a great eye and a great taste, and we make product for them that is sophisticated and attainable. The rules have just diminished. The age thing has changed certainly. I think the word “appropriate” has flown out the window. It’s very personal what appropriate means.
WWD: A lot of changes.
M.K.: All of that has changed tremendously. Also, when we see something that’s successful, it’s as successful in New Orleans as it is in Paris, as it is in New York, as it is in Toronto, as it is in Asia. It doesn’t matter. She gets her information. I joke that it’s like the Internet has turned into the fashion TomTom. She’s sending smoke signals out: pleated skirt; Michael Kors; long; pull-on; got to have it. And somehow every woman knows. What hasn’t changed, well, I think women are more paranoid than ever about their bodies, aging. It’s gotten more extreme. So what hasn’t changed, it doesn’t matter how divine something is, if she puts it on and she looks in the mirror, particularly a three-way mirror, and she thinks it makes her look bigger or shorter or older, that has not changed at all.