By Samantha Critchell
The Associated Press

Michael Kors is flattered to be considered at the head of the new class of American fashion designers - especially since he's been at this for 23 years.

At age 44, Kors calls himself "the oldest young designer in New York City."

The ability to straddle different age groups and social situations is clear in Kors' clothes, especially for his namesake collection and the new department store-targeted Michael Michael Kors line.

Michael, available in more than 400 stores in August, will be more for daily life. The debut line features a woman's cream wool hand-knit cable turtleneck paired with a camel faux shearling vest that is classically Kors.

A man can look pulled together in an olive-and-orange houndstooth windowpane blazer, a turtleneck sweater and cream-colored denim jean.

Recalling his own teenage fashion mistakes of jumpsuits and clogs, Kors says he now favors simple and well-made garments over trendy items.

"Need is not the biggest reason why we buy clothes. We buy clothes that hit us emotionally."

Kors must be hitting the right note: The Council of Fashion Designers of America nominated Kors as the best womenswear and menswear designer of the year, competing against Carolina Herrera, Marc Jacobs and Ralph Rucci in the women's category, and Sean Combs and Ralph Lauren in the men's. Kors previously won both titles; in 1999 for women's and in 2003 for men's.

Being honored for the companion collections, though, means someone "gets the whole picture of what I was trying to do," Kors says.

"When we put on a fashion show, we send men and women down the runway together. It's supposed to be a slice of life, and in real life there are couples, and there are older people and younger people."

Kors says fashion is similar to show business in several ways, including the artistic imitation of everyday life and the fickleness of the audience.

"You have to do what you do and evolve it for the world at large so your customers feel relevant," he says.

"You've never arrived in fashion. People are always changing their minds," he says.

According to Kors, designers actually can learn from the suburbanites they pretend don't exist.

"In America now our suburbs are sort of urban suburbs. It's about finding a blend of city sophistication with the comfort of getting in and out of the car. ... I call this 'car-pool couture.'"