Rufus Wainwright wows crowd at Michael Kors
In a fashion week that has seen big brand rivals tear up the calendar, Michael Kors needed to pull a trick out of the bag and that trick was Rufus Wainwright.
The New York-born singer, formally introduced and striding out to join a jazz band complete with baby grand, powered through a set in a sun-drenched Soho loft as models strode the runway.
Wainwright crooned songs of love, heartily applauded by the audience after each track, as star models Kendall Jenner -- daughter of Caitlyn -- Bella Hadid and Joan Smalls showed off Kors' designs.
It was a spring 2017 collection that Kors summed up as "powerful romance" and featured a stunning array of contrasting floral patterns: pink, red and orange, or blue, green and white.
As you would expect for a fashion empire built in part on its line of affordable but iconic accessories, there were plenty of belts, clutches, satchels and cork-soled platform sandals and wedges.
While mega brands Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren have chosen to ditch the traditional spring/summer season and show "see-now, buy-now" collections for fall/winter, Kors stuck more to the schedule.
But it was a collection that transcended seasonal boundaries, offering a series of stunning trench coats in classic beige as well as florals, sweaters with LOVE printed on the front and gingham coats.
Held in a loft with floor-to-ceiling windows filled with the New York skyline, it was a perfectly curated show by the veteran New York-born designer who found fame and success after dropping out of college.
His silhouettes evoked the glamor of the 1940s, with modestly cut skirts cinched at the waist. Floral prints recalled the fun of the 1970s and the suiting showed off the clean lines of contemporary New York style.
There was romance in the ruffles on silk chiffon skirts and shoulders, smatterings of hot pink in a cashmere ribbed cardigan and silk dress -- a color Kors called azalea -- and sequined tulle for evening.
With the chattering classes in France up in arms this summer over the temporary burkini ban, Kors showed off a couple of stunning retro high-waisted bikinis, including one in nutmeg with striking tortoise floral embroidery that could almost have been evening wear.
Wednesday is the penultimate day of New York Fashion Week, before the bandwagon jets across the Atlantic to London, Paris and Milan.
The highlight of the day is Ralph Lauren, who is reportedly sealing off a block on Madison Avenue for a re-run in some ways of his February fall/winter 2016 show. But this time the new items will be immediately available for sale at his Madison Avenue flagship store.
Others to watch are Spanish label Depolzo, red carpet favorite Marchesa, set up by Keren Craig and British-born Georgina Chapman -- second wife of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein -- and Anna Sui.