Michael Kors: Michael Kors

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery

Business

4.8 • 31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2023

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As a teenager, Michael Kors filled his notebooks with dress designs and doodles of his own initials—casual sketches that would eventually fuel the launch of a global fashion brand. Michael grew up with a love of fashion; by the time he was 19, his designs were on display on 5th Avenue, and by 22, his collection was getting attention from the fashion editor of New York Magazine, a young upstart named Anna Wintour. In the early days, he designed thousand-dollar dresses in his bedroom and delivered them in his aunt’s car. As the business grew, he launched a new line with an unproven partner that would eventually lead him to bankruptcy; then, after he recovered, he successfully branched out into eyewear, fragrances, and handbags, all branded with his now famous “MK” initials. Today, Michael still heads Creative at Michael Kors, and the brand has grown into a massive company that includes Jimmy Choo and Versace.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to how I built this early and ad-free on Amazon Music.
0:07.0	Download the app today.
0:09.2	What if the greatest tragedy of your life was just covered up?
0:12.5	I have never seen anything like that before or after.
0:15.7	This is the story of the worst marine-on-marine friendly fire in modern history.
0:20.0	A story kept from the public.
0:21.9	It's like, what did y'all have to hide?
0:24.6	I went to NPR's Embedded Podcast in its latest series, Taking Cover.
0:29.6	I was writing payroll checks from my personal checking account.
0:36.0	I went around to fabric resources and begged them, please, will you give me credit?
0:41.8	I had no office.
0:43.8	The first time I got a phone call and the New York Times said, oh, we have a reporter who
0:49.5	would love to come and look at the clothes.
0:53.2	I said, well, they can't come here.
0:55.7	They were like, what do you mean?
0:56.8	I said, well, I'm literally sowing in my bedroom.
1:07.3	Welcome to How I Built This.
1:08.8	A show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they
1:15.2	built.
1:18.9	One guy, Ross, and on the show today, how a kid from Long Island turned his name into
1:23.7	a global brand with designer luxury apparel and accessories under the label Michael Cors.
1:38.3	If building a fashion brand is hard, turning that brand into a global one is really hard,
	...

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