We talk to Michael Kors, fashion’s next billionaire, about everyday glamour, the secret to staying young and more

When Michael Kors arrives at his Bloor Street West boutique for a cocktail party in his honour, he looks every bit the billionaire he’s on the brink of becoming. Aviators on, entourage in tow, tanned and looking like he’s just flown in from Saint-Tropez or some other exotic locale, he’s immediately swallowed up in a swarm of Kors-clad clients and a frenzy of iPhone flashes. For most of the night, he’s ushered along on a dizzying circuit of hand-shaking, air-kissing and picture-posing, but he is at all times classic Kors, delighting those around him with the occasional quip, never losing that signature smile. And, given the year he’s been having, it’s no wonder he’s smiling.

Since taking his company public in the biggest IPO in U.S. fashion history, Kors has been raking in the accolades right along with the cash, including being named to Time Magazine’s list of the most influential people in the world, topping The Wall Street Journal’s NYIndex of powerful New Yorkers and landing the prestigious Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion from the Fashion Institute of Technology (not bad for a kid who dropped out of FIT after nine months). His company has 400 stores worldwide, has enjoyed record-breaking growth and, with 2013 profits forecast at more than double last year’s, it’s no wonder his is the most Googled name in American fashion—a name that, by the way, he chose for himself at the age of five (he was born Carl Anderson Jr.).

The morning after the party, I meet with Kors (sans aviators and entourage) to find out what has him smiling so much these days.

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