Michael Kors takes it easy with new collection at New York Fashion Week

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Kors created a runway that evoked his own living room to set the tone for his new Fall/Winter collection for New York Fashion Week, which focused on comfort and movement.

“It’s about the idea of ease, which we Americans invented. The world dresses this way, but what I like is that it has glamour,” Kors told The Associated Press backstage before the show.

The designer says he looked at old photos of icons like Lauren Hutton back in the 70s, and Zoe Kravitz on the street today to find the essence of the collection. “There’s this relaxed ease to how they look that I think is modern,” Kors said.

“It’s also about layering things in a very cool way. So it could be… a silk dress, but grab your husband’s coat or his jacket and throw it on. It’s about stride. I like when clothes move when you walk. That’s what’s sexy, not being naked.”

Models let the clothes do the talking with very minimal makeup and loose, natural hair as they marched down an extended two-aisled runway. The show opened with softly tailored menswear jackets paired with long flowing skirts or slouchy suit pants.

For a modern twist on layering for the fall, the show featured bikini bra tops under oversized blazers — either alone or with long blouses layering in between.

“Delicious oversized, cardigan blazers and coats with these very sort of filmy, soft dresses. This show is anti-corset, anti-Spanx, anti-bustier. It’s that comfort and ease,” Kors said.

Kors also heightened the show with touches of glamour in elegant dresses and jackets with swaths of sparkling sequins.

Black was a dominant color, with some grey, grey tweed and a few neutral colors including chocolate, green and deep purple. One standout material was long haired shearling-- in surprising colors like dusty mauve and celadon-- shown on a peacoat, a vest, several purses and even a pair of flat shoes.

Kors has always said every woman needs a great coat and he had plenty of options from leather trench coats belted tightly at the waist, to leather hipster jackets in several shapes, to one traditional trench-style, covered in liquid sequins which glistened in the light. There were cozy looks too, like long thick turtleneck sweaters – part of Kors' “neo-classic knitwear.”

Extending the casual, comfortable style to the setting, Kors and his team transformed a giant, high-ceilinged space at New York’s Terminal Warehouse to look like his home, with exposed brick and wood accents, and even art and houseware pieces punctuating the end of each runway bench. Japanese paper lanterns hung from the vaulted ceilings adding to what Kors called his “warm modernism.”

Celebrities flock to Kors shows and despite frigid New York temperatures, stars including Uma Thurman, Kerry Washington, Suki Waterhouse, Rose Byrne, Lea Michele, Cristin Milioti, and Rachel Zegler huddled together in the front row. Actor and reality star Lisa Rinna brought her daughter, Delilah Belle Hamlin, to watch her other daughter, Amelia Gray Hamlin, walk the runway.

“I can’t stop singing my praises about it,” gushed actor-singer Suki Waterhouse, who called the show “absolutely stunning.” “Those drama-crazy hats, scarves that look like blankets. It was everything it needed to be.”

Byrne said the clothes were “gorgeous” and so wearable. “(I’m) obsessed with the oversized suits already. The classic big coats, the beautiful chic dresses. Classic Michael Kors, he always delivers."

Suni Lee arrives at the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Leni Klum arrives at the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Suki Waterhouse arrives at the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Rose Byrne arrives at the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Delilah Hamlin, left, and Lisa Rinna arrive at the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Rachel Zegler arrives at the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS EVENT - Kerry Washington attends the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS EVENT - Rachel Brosnahan attends the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS EVENT - Nicole Scherzinger attends the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS EVENT - Lea Michele attends the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Michael Kors walks the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at Terminal Warehouse in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)