understands women and their fashion desires and foibles

showman, on and off the runway. At his shows, New York designer Michael Kors champions sleek, luxurious chic for the Park Avenue-Palm Beach set. Think swaths of silver fox on a silver parka, sweeping crystal-studded gowns (Sharon Stone wore one to the Daffodil Ball here some years ago) and cashmere of the thickest, softest, finest quality.

Off the runway, he's an engaging, humorous storyteller who connects with and understands women and their fashion desires and foibles.

"Women want to feel sexy without being ridiculous, comfortable but not live in their sweats," Kors said in an interview in Montreal recently. "I think they want something that feels new and fresh in their wardrobe and at the same time has a shelf life."

Kors was all charm and chuckles during the visit for a trunk show with clients at Holt Renfrew and a meet-and-greet breakfast with media.

At the grand Golden Square Mile mansion that is headquarters for the company in Canada, Kors regaled journalists with tales of suntanning and his passion for Bain de Soleil's scent, his summer camp visit to Montreal, where, rather than visiting the Expo site, he hit Holt's for a gift for his mother, and his deep empathy with our dilemma of dressing for evening in a cold climate.

He opened his fall runway show, he noted, with a cashmere body suit, "our Gstaad hot tub look," he said, adding we're going into a time when things will last but when women still want some indulgences.

Kors, a Project Runway judge and the 2010 winner of a lifetime achievement award (at age 50, the youngest recipient ever) from the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), is building a fashion empire with backing from Montreal investor Lawrence Stroll and his partner Silas Chou. His various labels, with variations on his name, MICHAEL Michael Kors for his affordable contemporary fashion and KORS Michael Kors for shoes and accessories, are sold in 68 namesake stores, as well as hundreds, if not thousands, more points of sale globally. There are also fragrances, eyewear, belts, watches and menswear.

"I think there was an immediate attraction with the Canadian market," Kors said of the launch of his secondary line in 2004. "Canada understands the connection between something practical and glamorous."

But it was his signature collection -- where, if you have to ask the price, it's probably not for you -- that drew a small crowd of invited guests with their Hermes bags, Chanel pearls and Christian Louboutin stilettos to lunch and a shopping session with the designer for fall orders.

"That's a better shape for you than this," Kors tells one of the ladies he lunched with.

"You have to keep the sleeves," he tells another client, in trying a winter-white coat with elbow slits. "Hello, you've got a long sleeve on anyway."

The clients, naturally, were charmed.

"What I love about Michael Kors is it's simple. You look hot without trying," said Alfee Kaufman, 21, who interned with Kors in New York.

She was shopping with her mother, real estate agent Liza Kaufman, who said she appreciates Kors' pieces because they're ageless, classic and you can wear them for many, many years.

Michael Kors, fashion designer, charmer, ladies' man and funny guy, visited Montreal recently to meet with media and charm clients into his luxurious clothes at a trunk show at Holt Renfrew.