Michael Kors channels his inner theater geek at Fashion Week

Some highlights of New York Fashion Week on Wednesday:

MICHAEL KORS: A THEATER-THEMED COLLECTION FOR THE 'SWIPE ERA'

Michael Kors is a known theater geek, and he channeled that enthusiasm in a fashion show that featured show tunes on the soundtrack and Playbill-style programs on the seats.

The Michael Kors collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Michael Kors collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Michael Kors collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

There was a theatricality to the fashions, too, and you could call it an "Anything Goes" vibe: Fancy with casual, plaid with lace, even shower slides for evening. The very first ensemble on the runway mixed tartan, floral and animal print.

That same spirit was present in the soundtrack, which included brief snippets of so many songs from so many eras, one could be forgiven for seeing one's life pass before one's eyes. "My Fair Lady" and "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music" were represented, but so was TV's "Sex and the City" and classical ballet's "Swan Lake." Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" morphed into Petula Clark's "Downtown" of two decades earlier. There were also snippets from "The Graduate," ''The Hamilton Mixtape," and, at the end, Julie Andrews singing "My Favorite Things."

The Michael Kors collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Blake Lively, third from right and Emily Blunt, second from right, talk as the Michael Kors collection is shown during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Michael Kors collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Backstage, Kors explained the show's vibe as "like a Fellini film or an Almodovar film where you've got all these characters and these people who float through my head." For starters, he mentioned Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow's character in "The Royal Tenenbaums,") Solange Knowles, Zendaya, Blake Lively, and Ryan Gosling — people whose personal style he admired.

"We're living in the swipe era," Kors explained. "So there's not one way to look, there's not one way to present yourself. You can wear shower slides at night. You can wear stiletto, leopard, a slip for day. We don't pay attention to the seasons anymore. It's really just how do you express yourself with fashion."

Blake Lively, left, and Emily Blunt watch as the Michael Kors collection is shown during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Michael Kors collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Michael Kors collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Zendaya and Lively were just two of the many celebrities attending Kors' show on Wednesday; they were joined in the front row by actress Emily Blunt. All were dressed by Kors, of course, Lively in a bright red patent leather coat, Blunt in a striped T-shirt and rose-patterned satin skirt, and Zendaya in a track jacket and joggers, under a wool trench.

Kors noted that it was Valentine's Day, and called the show "a valentine to men and women who understand the joy of getting dressed, and love fashion and personal style and iconic New York. As for the theater theme, he quipped: "This is as close as you'll get to Michael Kors on Broadway."