Michael Kors Spring 2012: ‘Afriluxe’ (An Icky Word for a Not Icky Collection)

Michael Kors went on safari for spring. He called his collection “Afriluxe” which made me cringe a little since much of Africa is decidedly not luxurious. Beautiful, yes, but luxurious? No. The parts that are luxurious are more often than not available only to rich tourists and a very small sliver of the population. Kors said in his line sheets he was inspired by the “rustic modernism of the Lebombo Lodge,” which the Times‘ Eric Wilson notes is $1,500 per night, per person.

Wilson also said the collection looked like “hillbillies on safari.” Ouch. I wouldn’t go that far. While the line sheets might have read a bit cringe-y the collection did not. In stark contrast to the bright grass greens and hot pinks of last year’s collection, this one was done in earth tones with the occasional bursts of sunset hues and set to a version of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” mixed with drumming.

There were caftans and blanket skirts and many variations on an adorable structured trench, one version done in python. A safari collection wouldn’t be complete without animal prints and the big five were well represented on little sheath dresses, sexy cut-out maillots, and caftans. But the pieces I liked best were the hand-dyed tops and flow-y bias dresses in olive and amber. Makes me want to go on vacation…like now.

The only “hillbilly” aspect? Distressed cashmere. I get that it was supposed to be raw and rugged in keeping with the safari theme, but why would anyone want to buy full price cashmere with holes in it? Still, I’m a Kors fan through and through, so I’ll overlook the hole-y cashmere and dream of those hand-dyed maxis.

**All photos via Imaxtree

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