Michael Kors

Kors was born Karl Anderson, Jr.[3] on Long Island, New York, the son of Joan Hamburger, a former model, and her first husband, Karl Anderson, a college student.[4][5] His mother got remarried to Bill Kors when he was five. Since he was getting a new last name, his mother told him that he could choose a new first name as well; he chose to become Michael David Kors.[5] He grew up in Merrick, New York and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York. Kors' mother is Jewish and his father was of Swedish descent.[3][6][7][8] Kors married his partner, Lance LePere, on August 16, 2011.[1]
[edit]Career

Michael Kors has had an affinity for fashion since he was very young. His mother thought it may have had to something to do with the fact that he was exposed to the apparel industry through her modeling career. As a teen, Michael began designing clothes and selling them out of his parents’ basement which he renamed the Iron Butterfly.[9] In 1977, he enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.[10] However, he dropped out after only nine months and took at job at a boutique across from Bergdorf on 57th Street where he was given a small space to sell his designs. Shorty after, Dawn Mello, the former fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman, discovered Michael. She asked if he would show his collection to Bergdorf Goodman’s buyers and he has had his collection ever since.[11] In 1981, Kors launched the Michael Kors womenswear line at Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Building on his success, Kors was named the first ever women's ready-to-wear designer and creative director for the French fashion house Celine in 1997. In his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashion house around with blockbuster accessories and a critically acclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors left Celine in October 2003 to concentrate on his own brand. Kors launched his menswear line in 2002.
In addition to the Michael