There is a fascinating history of success behind the fêted Michael Kors fashion house, from the name of its founder to its place on the global sporting stage.

Michael Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr.) is an American fashion designer. He is best known for his fashion company and as a judge on the Bravo Emmy-nominated reality show Project Runway.
 

Michael Kors is the honorary chairman and chief creative officer of his namesake company, Michael Kors Holdings Limited (KORS) which is popular as a brand that makes men’s and women’s ready-to-wear accessories, footwear, jewellery, and fragrance.
 

Karl Anderson Jr. was born on August 9. 1959 in Long Island, New York, to Karl Anderson Sr., a college student from Sweden, and Joan Hamburg, a former model.

 

Michael grew up in Merrick, New York, and went on to graduate from the John F Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York as well as the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, New York.

 

Michael had an interest in designing and fashion from a very early age. At the age of 5 years, he even redesigned his mother’s wedding dress for her second marriage. He started designing and selling clothes from his parents’ basement when he was in his teens.

 

After dropping out of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York he worked at a boutique where he was also allowed to sell his creations from a small counter in it. In 1981, Michael launched the women’s-wear line, Michael Kors Womenswear at various famed designers such as Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, etc.

 

In 1990, Michael established the KORS Michael Kors line but had to discontinue it for some time after 1993 due to bankruptcy issues. In 1997, he again launched a lower-priced brand this time and was chosen as the first-ever women’s ready-to-wear designer for the popular French fashion house Celine.

In 2003, Michael left Celine to concentrate on his own brand Kors. In 2002, Kors launched its first line of menswear. In 2004, he launched the MICHAEL Michael Kors and the KORS Michael Kors lines, which included women’s footwear and bags as well as ready-to-wear apparel.

 

In 2011, Michael celebrated the 30th anniversary of KORS. In 2013, Michael featured on The Time 100 Most Influential People’s list. The next year, in 2014, Michael was named the Out Magazine’s 2014 Power 50 List. In 2015, Michael was named the Global Ambassador Against Hunger by the United Nations’ World Food Program.

 

In 2017 Michael Kors Holding ltd acquired the luxury shoemaking British company, Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion and also officially confirmed the purchase of Italian fashion brand Versace for $2.12 billion.

 

In its acquisition of the brand, Michael Kors Holdings is now officially named ‘Capri Holdings’ which has three major fashion houses under its portfolio: Michael Kors Collection, Versace, and Jimmy Choo.

 

Today, Michael Kors is a globally renowned brand, bringing high-end American style to more than 100 countries and making its founder wealthy in the process. With partnerships in the jet-set world of Formula One and ringing celebrity endorsements, plus a reel of awards and a tremendous record in philanthropy.

 

Michael Kors started designing clothes in his childhood and has since turned the passion into a global fashion empire that contributes to his current estimated net worth of $600 million as of 2018.