Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Beauty

    'I don’t want to be around people who don’t find joy in what they do.' Why we all need to be more Michael Kors...

    Life lessons according to one of the most famous designers in the world...

    Holly Rains's avatar
    By Holly Rains
    Published 9 October 2017 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Life lessons according to one of the most famous designers in the world...

    You probably think you know Michael Kors. Perhaps it's because your at-home beauty table is lined with bottles of his fragrance, or that you're carrying a signature MK bag right now, or maybe, just maybe, you're lucky enough to be familiar with the man who happens to have of the most sanguine personalities in the business.

    Yes, the man appears to be an eternal optimist. 'I don’t want to be around people who don’t find joy in what they do,', he explains as we sit down to talk about his new fragrance, Sexy Ruby. In fact, it seems like every sentence that comes from his mouth is either a positive affirmation, or a reminder that hey, we work in fashion, there are worse ways to be making a living.

    In an effort to #bemoreMichael, take heed of his words of wisdom and try to invoke the Kors spirit that'll leave you feeling uplifted, energised and smelling so damn good...

    On staying positive...

    'I was lucky that I knew early on that I was doing what I loved - what I was passionate about - but also to be able to be successful doing it. Sure, you have some days that are too long, or you’re tired but -fashion people often don’t remember how privileged we all are to be surrounded by beauty and all of these wonderful things. You know what? The world is so complicated but what we do is lovely. So I say, "let's celebrate it!"...'

    You may like
    • Personality Dressing Bored of Beige? Personality Dressing Is the One Thing All the Most Stylish Women Have in Common
    • The end of signature scent Forget Searching For ‘the One’. When it Comes to Fragrance, Polyamory is in Fashion
    • Autumn fragrance Your Autumn Reset Starts With Your Fragrance—Here's How to Find the Right One

    On being an individual...

    'This last fashion show this spring, we worked with Orlando Pita doing the hair. And I said to him, "Orlando, I really don’t want to change their hair." And he said, "What do you mean?!" I said, "If they have curly hair, we’re leaving it. If it’s wavy, we’re leaving it. If it’s straight, we’re leaving it...." I just wanted it to be healthy. That’s it. And some of the girls were shocked because of what I wanted, but I wanted the hair to be natural. I think it’s about being honest with yourself.'

    On staying relevant...

    'You never stop learning. If you think you’ve arrived, then you’re finished. The fashion and beauty world is always evolving and it should reflect the world. So the moment you think you're at the peak, it’s finished for you. So the thing that I’ve learned as a designer, is that you always have to listen to your gut instinct. It’s the most important thing.'

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    On white jeans...

    'Somehow, white jeans are automatically glamorous. I think white jeans make you not really care about the weather, there’s something very indulgent about them but at the same time, they’re practical (because hey, you can wash them).'

    On why rubies are the new diamonds...

    Shop now: Michael Kors Sexy Ruby Eau de Parfum for £90 from Boots

    'We don’t see a lot of rubies in today’s world. There’s real depth to them and when you look into a ruby, you get all of those facets. So it's bringing the idea of power and sexy together into a fragrance. But I wanted it to be a fragrance that was surprising, so that when someone asks, "what are you wearing?", at first, they don’t really know what the scent is. It’s not a pure one note you know, it’s not a pure floral. It’s not a pure musk. That you take these sort of disparate things and combine them makes it more interesting. That makes it intriguing.

    Holly Rains
    Holly Rains
    Social Links Navigation

    Holly Rains is the digital editor of Marie Claire UK. She has over 10 years journalism experience, working as an editor and writer, specialising in digital media, content strategy and dog breeds. Prior to Marie Claire, she has held senior staff positions at ELLE UK, Grazia and Company magazine.

    Holly is a frequent speaker, panelist and interviewer on a range of subjects including media trends, careers and entertainment. From working with Reuters to provide global red carpet coverage for events like the BAFTAs, to discussing fashion and beauty trends on network TV, she was also the host of the Marie Claire series ‘Holly’s First Dates’, where she regularly interviewed a mix of inspiring woman and A-list celebrities (including Jack Black, Dakota Fanning and Renée Zellweger)  - a series which garnered half a million views in its first two months. And was approved by The Rock.

    Her love of office-based meetings means that the days of discovering the melting point of Cadbury's Flakes are long gone, but when she isn't dreaming of scheduling in meetings, she likes to think about social media, and how best to avoid it whilst still retaining the title of 'digital' editor. She also likes learning about emerging technology, Influencers and how to become a Financially Responsible Adult.

    Contact Holly: holly.rains@futurenet.com

    Read more
    Personality Dressing
    Fashion Bored of Beige? Personality Dressing Is the One Thing All the Most Stylish Women Have in Common
    The end of signature scent
    Fragrance Forget Searching For ‘the One’. When it Comes to Fragrance, Polyamory is in Fashion
     
     
    Autumn fragrance
    Fragrance Your Autumn Reset Starts With Your Fragrance—Here's How to Find the Right One
    Fragrance Archetypes: What's your perfume personality?
    Fragrance Forget Your Signature Scent—Your Perfume Personality Is Far More Interesting
     
     
    Latest in Beauty
    Is Skincare Really Backed by Science? What Clinical Trials Prove
    Skincare The Evidence Revolution: Is Skincare Finally Taking Testing Seriously?
    Overconsumption: Rhode raises a wider beauty question
    Beauty Beauty Wants to Talk Anti-Consumption. But Can an Industry Built on Selling More Really Change?
     
     
    Oestrogen skincare
    Skincare Can Oestrogen Really Reverse Skin Ageing? MC Investigates Beauty’s Next Hormonal Frontier
    Grey Blending hair colour trend
    Hair Grey Blending Is Changing the Way We Colour Our Hair—Here’s Everything You Need to Know
     
     
    Latest in News
    New Beauty Launches: Burberry Beauty / Mes Beauty / rhute / Jo Loves / Ziip Beauty
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Jennifer Lawrence’s Unexpected Haircare Launch, Burberry’s Exquisite New Perfumes and Jo Loves Sparks Festive Joy
    New Beauty Launches: Amouage, Haus Labs, XERF
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Is XERF Worth the Hype? Plus, Amouage’s New Body Collection & The Beauty Beat Returns
     
     
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
    Next
    Shopping NEXT’s Autumn/Winter 2026 Collection Has Everything We Love About Getting Dressed in the Colder Months
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.