Michael Kors talks Fashion Week, Long Island

Designer Michael Kors had a lot to celebrate Thursday night. His Spring 2013 show at New York Fashion Week went off without a hitch the day before, and his collaboration with fashion photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank was premiering at his Madison Avenue store.

“We worked on the show for almost a year,” Kors told Newsday, “so every time I feel like an expectant dad. It came together exactly how we wanted it to, down to the last detail.“

Famous model Karlie Kloss wore the final look.

“We planned the music to fade out exactly as Karlie Kloss left the runway, and it worked,” he said. “So other than a shoe strap unbuckling during the show, that was kind of our only mishap. I'm very excited with how it went.”

Thursday marked the end of New York Fashion Week, a biannual event at which the aviator-clad designer is always a staple.

“My favorite part of Fashion Week, oh my God, seeing the models in their first looks when you've worked on a show that long,” Kors said. “Seeing it all come to life is my favorite part.”

Though his enthusiasm seemed as high as ever as he arrived at his store dressed in black, even Kors was worn out from the long week. “Not sleeping enough, that's definitely the worst part,” he said about Fashion Week.

Kors, who grew up in Merrick, said one of his favorite ways to relax is spending time on Long Island's beaches. “I'm a beach boy,” he said, “so you can take me from Atlantic Beach straight up to Montauk; it's the best beaches in the world.”