In a series of recent interviews, fashion designer Michael Kors opened up about his life and upbringing in Merrick.
Born Karl Anderson, Jr. Kors went on to create a global fashion empire, nurture a training ground for designers, according to Racked.com. He started his career early, when at age 11, he opened a store in the basement of his home in Merrick.
"It was called the Iron Butterfly Boutique...I was very crafty so I made fabulous candles, I made whip-stitched leather bags, I made hammered copper bracelets. I had a girl up the street who knew how to crochet and we made snoods...so I set the whole thing up in the basement of our house in the suburbs, and I invited all the kids from the neighborhood to come over and I sold everything in like a week."
According to NBC New York, Kors stayed focused on fashion throughout his teenage years.
He...sold sketches to UFO Jeans as a teenager. “I immediately took the money and put it right on my back,” Kors said. “I think it might have gone to the beginnings of a Cartier tank watch … which of course every 16-year-old needs.” When he was 17, Kors became a buyer for a tennis pro-shop.
In addition, the fashion designer revealed that instead of going to his prom (he attended Kennedy High School), he and his date went to Studio 54 in Manhattan.
"I went to Studio 54 the first time instead of going to my senior prom. Studio 54 had just opened. I wrapped a girlfriend of mine in hot pink gauze, a strapless pareo, a harem pant, flower behind the ear. I was wearing a piece of raw silk jersey wrapped into a diaper pant with a panama hat, a burlap jacket, and I took three luggage straps, wrapped them around my waist and my thigh (which was considerably smaller then) and we got to the door at Studio 54 and I'm sure they were like, 'These kids are fabulous!'"
