Michael Kors honours feminist icon Gloria Steinem as New York Fashion Week wraps up

US journalist Gloria Steinem speaks to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and English magazine editor Anna Wintour as they attend the Michael Kors runway show during New York Fashion Week in New York City on February 15, 2023. Image Credit: Photography ANGELA WEISS / AFP

American designer Michael Kors paid tribute to US feminist icon Gloria Steinem on the final day of New York Fashion Week Wednesday.

His Fall-Winter 2023 parade saw several models wear round, low-hanging belts in a nod to the 88-year-old Steinem's signature look.

Steinem, considered the leader of second-wave feminism in America in the late 1960s and early '70s, sat front row at the show in Manhattan's West Village.

She looked on alongside Vogue editor-in-chief and high priestess of fashion Anna Wintour, and actresses Mindy Kaling and Kate Hudson.

"The women who intrigued me then (and who) still intrigue me today are the women who break the rules, do things their own way," Kors told reporters Tuesday, ahead of the show.

"Even though they're strong or they're powerful, and they're smart, they're happy to admit that they love fashion, and they enjoy fashion," he added.

Steinem said in a 2015 interview that she often wore a "concho" belt.

A concho is a metal ornament, often silver and round, that has its origins in the culture of the Navajo Native American nation.

Uruguayan-American Gabriela Hearst is another designer who drew inspiration from non-conformist, pioneering women for the New York parade.

Also read: Age no matter: Iris Apfel, Maye Musk, Linda Rodin, older models are new stars of fashion

On Tuesday, she honored Irish architect Eileen Gray, who paved the way for the modernist architecture movement in the 1920s.

Her homage was evident in Hearst's straight, functional cuts of recycled cashmere jackets, trousers and long coats.

Gray's "Dragons" armchair sold at auction in Paris for almost 22 million euros ($28 million) in 2009, more than 30 years after her death aged 98.

It set a record for 20th Century decorative art.

Also read: From she-wolves to whales and corgis, animals are out in force at Haute Couture Week

"She never got to see this reality and, like many women, she undervalued herself and her excellence," Hearst said in her designer's notes.

Meanwhile Philippe and David Blond, the duo at the helm of The Blonds, tinged their collection with references to old Hollywood.

Glittering dresses and fake furs were combined with Louboutin stilettos and a James Bond soundtrack.

Their inspiration was, of course, Elizabeth Taylor, David Blond revealed backstage.