FIT Annual Gala 

“I’ve always held on to that idea that fashion can transform and transport you. It has the potential to change your mood and your life quicker than anything else. It can help tell everyone either who you are or who you want to be.” —Michael Kors

With a sharp focus on providing his customers with accessories and clothes that are consistently polished, chic, relaxed, and glamorous, Michael Kors has created an enduring and iconic luxury lifestyle empire with a distinctive point of view and global reach.

Raised in Merrick, Long Island, a suburban town 23 miles from New York City, Kors revealed his eye for design at the age of 5 when he advised his mother, Joan, on her wedding dress for her second marriage. Kors went on to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, where he studied fashion design. He left school to start his own label in 1981, after receiving accolades for his work at Lothar’s, the trendsetting boutique on New York’s West 57th Street. The first Michael Kors Collection runway show was held for the Fall 1984 season; in its review, WWD referenced his collection of “haute, classic sportswear” and “elegant but minimal dressing.”

As he continued to build his own business, Kors also served as creative director of Céline, the renowned French luxury brand, from 1998 to 2004. He is credited with restoring the brand’s former luster, re-establishing it as one of the major European fashion houses.

Michael Kors, the company, has seen significant growth since its founding in 1981. Today it is a global fashion luxury brand with an array of products (including handbags, footwear, ready-to-wear, sunglasses, watches, jewelry, and fragrance) under the Michael Kors Collection, MICHAEL Michael Kors, and Michael Kors Mens labels. In December 2011, Michael Kors Holdings Limited went public on the New York Stock Exchange in what was then the biggest IPO for a U.S. fashion business in history. In 2017, Michael Kors Holdings Limited acquired luxury footwear and accessories brand Jimmy Choo. The following year, Michael Kors Holdings Limited changed its name to Capri Holdings Limited, effective December 31, 2018, and completed its acquisition of Versace. Michael Kors currently has over 750 stores globally, with flagships in many of the world’s most sophisticated cities.

For Fall/Winter 2021, Kors celebrated his 40th anniversary with a special runway show. Award-winning singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright performed while a slew of iconic models—from Naomi Campbell and Helena Christensen to Vittoria Ceretti—walked the NYC streets as their runway. He also reissued, for the first time, iconic pieces from his archives. 

Kors has been the recipient of numerous industry awards, including The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Womenswear Designer of the Year in 1999 and Menswear Designer of the Year in 2003. He has also been awarded The Accessories Council ACE Award for Designer of the Year in 2006 and Fashion Group International’s Star Honoree at its annual Night of Stars Awards Gala in 2009. In 2010, the CFDA acknowledged Kors with their most prestigious honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. He also received the Award of Courage from the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in 2011. In October 2012, God’s Love We Deliver honored Kors with the Golden Heart Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, Kors was selected for the Time 100, the magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world; he also made the New York Observer’s list of the 100 most influential New Yorkers. In 2016, he was awarded the McGovern-Dole Leadership Award by WFP USA, presented by Vice President Joe Biden. In October 2022, Fashion Group International awarded Kors its Superstar Award, presented by the designer’s longtime friend Iman. In addition to these accomplishments, Kors was a judge on the Emmy-nominated television series Project Runway from 2004–2012. The show was syndicated internationally.

In addition to his lasting impact on the fashion industry, Kors has been a dedicated supporter of philanthropic organizations and an advocate for people in need for his entire career. He has been a passionate champion for God’s Love We Deliver, a New York City-based non-profit that provides meals to people living with critical illnesses in the Tri-State area, since the late 1980s. In 2013, Kors launched WATCH HUNGER STOP, his philanthropic campaign supporting the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and currently serves as a WFP Goodwill Ambassador. 

For more than 20 years, Kors has been an enthusiastic patron of the New York Restoration Project, an organization working to build a greener, more resilient city through the creation of high-quality public gardens and parks throughout the five boroughs. He regularly participates in the organization’s bi-annual events and has sponsored a garden on Essex Street in Brooklyn. Additionally, the Kors Le Pere Foundation is a founding supporter of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center (SNMVC) here in New York City. The SNMVC opened in June 2024 and is the first U.S. National Parks Service visitor center dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and history.

He supports many other organizations locally, nationally, and globally, including the Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City Center, Lincoln Center Theater, FIT, amfAR, the NewYork-Presbyterian Fund, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the LGBT Community Center, and the NAACP, amongst others.

Nina Garcia is the editor-in-chief of the U.S. edition of Elle, the number one fashion media brand in the world, with 45 international editions and a global readership exceeding 175 million. Garcia is the first Latina to lead a major American fashion title and has spent 20+ years in the fashion industry. Building on Elle's history of excellence and inclusion, Garcia has extended the brand’s fashion and cultural coverage across new platforms, and since taking the helm in September 2017, Elle's footprint has never been larger.

During her tenure, Elle has been an ASME Award finalist for general excellence, lifestyle photographs, and essays and criticism. Garcia’s impactful covers, her focus on uplifting Latin American voices, and her commitment to championing social change have earned her a 2024 Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications, USA Today’s Women of the Year in 2023, and the CFDA’s Media Award in Honor of Eugenia Sheppard in 2021. For Elle’s groundbreaking March 2021 cover featuring FKA Twigs, Garcia received Womankind’s Phoenix Woman of the Year in Media Award for bringing attention to intimate partner violence. Elle was also named Adweek’s Hottest Fashion Magazine in 2019 and The Daily Front Row’s Magazine of the Year in 2023 and 2018.

Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Garcia is a graduate of Boston University and FIT. She began her career at Mirabella and served as fashion director of Elle from 2000 to 2008, after holding other roles at the title since 1995. She was the creative director of Marie Claire before returning to Elle in 2017.

Garcia has been a judge on the Peabody Award-winning Project Runway since it launched in 2004. She is the author of four books on personal style, including the New York Times bestseller The Little Black Book of Style. Garcia has appeared as a style expert on Good Morning America, Today, The View, and more. In 2017 and 2012, Garcia hosted the red carpet for ABC’s Oscar Awards telecast. Her respected authority in the industry earned her Fashion Group International’s Oracle Award in 2010. 

After undergoing a preventative double mastectomy in 2019, which she shared in a moving op-ed on ELLE.com, Garcia joined the board of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) and is involved with The Basser Center for BRCA research and the Alliance in Reconstructive Surgery Foundation. She also serves on the boards of the CFDA, Fashion Institute of Technology, and Fashion Trust Arabia.

Garcia lives in New York with her husband and their two sons.