Former classmates are rushing to defend fashion designer Michael Kors from allegations that he’s fancifully concocted having been a regular at iconic club Studio 54.
Kors’ latest collection was inspired by the ’70s disco, and he reminisced about Studio 54 in the new issue of Interview magazine — saying he even skipped his high school prom to hit the hot spot, known for its celebrity regulars. But the club’s co-founder, noted hotelier Ian Schrager, then posted online: “I don’t believe Michael Kors was ever at Studio 54. I certainly don’t remember him, as he made no impression,” and also accused him of using the club’s mojo to sell clothes. (Kors explained he was just a student at the time.)
After our story ran, former Andy Warhol acolyte Robert Dupont told us: “Michael did attend Studio 54. I remember, in like 1979, Michael helping me get [artist] Rupert [Jasen Smith] into a cab. Ian may not have run into Michael. There were 1,500 to 2,000 people there a night. It was all about partying. He was a student. I was, too, at FIT. Tom Ford was a student there, too … That was in ’79. There are pictures — old Warhol contact sheets — and he’s in a few of them.”
A classmate of Kors from JFK HS in Bellmore, New York, Jesse Nash, told us: “As far as Michael going to Studio 54, he’s telling the truth. In fact, I remember him raving about it in choir class. I was part of that high school entourage that loved clubbing. And Studio 54 was a big part of our social scene.”
Nash is now a host of the podcast “AftershockXL” with Steve Grillo.