Designer Michael Kors Holds First Live Fashion Show Since Pandemic

Designer Michael Kors waves after presenting his collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, US, February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
Designer Michael Kors waves after presenting his collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, US, February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
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Designer Michael Kors Holds First Live Fashion Show Since Pandemic

Designer Michael Kors waves after presenting his collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, US, February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
Designer Michael Kors waves after presenting his collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, US, February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

Designer Michael Kors took over New York City's landmark Tavern on the Green in Central Park on Friday, his first live runway show since the pandemic began.

Although COVID-19 protocols restricted his guest list, Kors said it gave those in attendance an intimate experience.

"To be able to put on a live show to me is thrilling. I love people to be able to experience live fashion," said Kors, Reuters reported.

The brand required all guests to be double vaccinated, while staff, crews and press were given on-site testing before being admitted into the venue.

"Lots and lots of checking boxes and being so unbelievably strict with the protocols," he said.

Actress Kate Hudson, who is a friend of Kors, was thrilled to be at her first show in many months. "I'm so excited. And it's nice and small, intimate, which I think is going to be really lovely. But I haven't done this for a long time so it feels a little odd and wonderful all at the same time."

This season Kors decided to look at romance through a streamlined and urban lens. The New York native said his inspiration was not just romantic love, but love of friends, family, city, seeing people and more.

He said he created a collection that will help celebrate those moments that we've all been craving.

Models including Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner paraded through an outdoor garden, while Broadway star Ariana DeBose performed live.

Kors said the collection was filled with charm.

"Lots of black and white in the collection," the designer explained.

"A lot of gingham, which just puts a smile on my face, I'm not a picnic kind of guy, but I can have the fantasy. A lot of white embroidery, a lot of white laces and eyelet and things like that."

New York Fashion Week will end on Sept. 12.



Sources: Shein Aims for London IPO by Mid-year

FILE PHOTO: A company logo for fashion brand Shein is seen on a pile of gift bags on its Christmas bus as part of a nationwide promotional tour in Liverpool, Britain, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A company logo for fashion brand Shein is seen on a pile of gift bags on its Christmas bus as part of a nationwide promotional tour in Liverpool, Britain, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
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Sources: Shein Aims for London IPO by Mid-year

FILE PHOTO: A company logo for fashion brand Shein is seen on a pile of gift bags on its Christmas bus as part of a nationwide promotional tour in Liverpool, Britain, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A company logo for fashion brand Shein is seen on a pile of gift bags on its Christmas bus as part of a nationwide promotional tour in Liverpool, Britain, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein is aiming to list in London in the first half of the year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, assuming it gains regulatory approvals for the initial public offering.
The IPO could be completed as early as Easter, which is April 20, one of the people said.
A visit to China by Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves starting on Saturday, during which she will meet with vice premier He Lifeng to discuss economic and financial cooperation, could help progress the regulatory approvals Shein needs, the source added.
A second person with knowledge of the matter said Shein, founded in China in 2012, is working towards listing in the first half of this year, but the definitive timeline is still in flux.
The London listing push comes after the company ended its attempt at a US IPO after pushback from lawmakers concerned about risks connected to China and alleged labor malpractices, Reuters reported.
The head of Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, which is in charge of assessing and approving flotations like Shein's IPO, is accompanying Reeves on the trip to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with regulatory partners there.
Shein declined to comment, the FCA said it does not comment on potential listing applications, and Britain's finance ministry did not reply to Reuters' questions.
Even though it moved its headquarters from Nanjing to Singapore in 2022, Shein also requires permission from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, making it subject to offshore listing rules, as most of its 5,800 contract manufacturers are in China.
New rules passed by the CSRC in 2023 allow it to vet and potentially block offshore listings.
The CSRC did not immediately reply to questions about Britain's visit and Shein's IPO.
Shein is walking a political tightrope as it tries to show it has measures in place to limit the risk of human rights violations in its supply chain while avoiding any direct claims about China's Xinjiang province - a top cotton-producing region where the United States and NGOs have accused the government of forced labor and other abuses against Uyghur people.
Beijing denies any abuses, and Chinese authorities have hit back at clothing brands that say they don't use Xinjiang cotton.
Shein's general counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Yinan Zhu, on Tuesday declined to directly answer when asked by a British parliamentary committee whether the retailer's clothes contain cotton from China or Xinjiang, or whether it tells suppliers not to source from the province.
Zhu asked instead to provide the committee with written answers, and said Shein complies with relevant laws in all jurisdictions.