Michael Kors used his opening spot on the official New York Fashion Week schedule this season to send a much-welcome reminder: Take your PTO and book that vacation already.
At his spring 2026 runway show for Michael Kors Collection on Thursday morning—which attracted the expected high-wattage crowd, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Olivia Wilde, Ariana DeBose, Kaitlyn Dever, Leslie Bibb, and more—the designer presented a surprisingly laid-back offering inspired by his own travels.
The opening look was an oversize button-down, left undone until almost the navel, tucked into loose black trousers with a sheer skirt overlay, cinched at the waist with a long brown belt left hanging to one side and a charmed layered necklace boasting what appeared to be a small leather pouch. It set the tone for the collection: easy, but well-accessorized. That model also carried an oversize fringed clutch and leather sandals; the one that followed paired her sleeveless black dress, with a sheer asymmetric skirt, with criss-cross heels, a large pendant necklace (a massive summer trend now cosigned into the new year), belted cuff bracelets, and a scrunched-up leather clutch. The tonal styling of the primarily white, black, and earthy brown ensembles emphasized the dimension and texture added by a dramatically long fringe earring, a large stone ring, or a quilted top-handle bag.
Kors has always excelled when doing more with less. Season after season, the pared-back color palettes of Michael Kors Collection force the audience to focus not on flash, but on silhouette. He favors sharp tailoring, precisely cut dresses, and separates that a customer can recognize and visualize in their closet. For spring 2026, the designer zeroed in on collarless blazers, loose trousers cinched at the ankle, polo tunics, and sleeveless dresses that belong in a suitcase bound for a resort in the American Southwest. One can picture the lineup as the chicest boarding queue for the next flight bound for Santa Fe. The styling emphasized this “G2G, I’m OOO” vibe: relaxed suits with flat sandals (and sometimes with nothing but a bikini top underneath); Bermuda shorts under trench coats; short-sleeve T-shirts with low-rise wrap skirts and a big beaded necklace; a mesh camper shirtdress with a laser-cut leather tote.
Even the closing eveningwear component felt more subdued than usual for the red-carpet regular—well, as subtle as a gold metallic trench coat, a semi-sheer sequin one-shoulder asymmetric-hem dress, and sequined balloon trousers with a bra top and button-down can be.
Michael Kors Collection being such a New York brand, its runway offerings are rooted in a cosmopolitan sensibility. You can see the black cape top belted into loose trousers with heeled golden sandals and a pouch clutch as a new power-lunch uniform, or the sleeveless blazer over handkerchief skirt suit with a bucket bag as a go-to outfit for important meetings. No matter the destination—whether a plane ride or subway stop away—the spring 2026 collection has that customer covered.
