Daily Front Row

2012 November 19

Michael Kors Hats in the Garden

Comments | | Print

Michael Kors gets candid!
Keith Isaac Photography View Gallery

(Naples, FL) Ladies adorned in a myriad of avant-garde fascinators and grandiose hats (shoe chapeaux, anyone?) swooned over Michael Kors at the lavish Hats in the Garden soirée last week in Naples, Florida. The annual charity fete benefits the Naples Botanical Gardens, raising over $300,000 per annum. This afternoon featured a three-course luncheon and a private runway show of Kors' Spring/Summer '13 collection at the event's beneficiary, the Naples Botanical Gardens. FYI: The scrumptious s'more treat was a crowd pleaser (Kors can attest) accompanied by an orange bar with caramelized hazelnut and milk chocolate topped with a Chantilly and lemon marshmallow. In between noshing on sweet treats and chatting with his well-heeled devotees, Kors gave us the lowdown on his accessory du jour. "Anything with Lucite!" he said. "A shoe with a clear trim, a handbag with something clear. I just think it's kind of fresh, light and bright." Noted.

Michael Kors' love affair with the small, beachfront town in South West Florida goes back 30 years. When the designer dropped out of  FIT, his second client was none other than Marissa Hartington, the woman behind the style of Naples' elites. His first client, of course, was Bergdorf's. The Hartington-Kors relationship lasted over three decades with countless trunk shows set up inside the Marissa Collections boutique. "The nature of me as a person is the nature of me as a designer...I love luxury, and I love indulgence," said Kors. "But at the same time, I like to be barefoot. I like comfort and ease, and that's always been how I design. My favorite places in the world are ones that combine a sense of glamour and luxury with a laid-back, barefoot approach — kind of the best of both worlds. In Naples, you certainly get that!"
NICOLE FORBIS