Any time I hear Marianne Faithfull on a runway is a good day in fashion. On Thursday, Michael Kors played her 1979 song “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan,” and while its lyrics are set in Paris, it expressed the collection’s feeling of escape and wanderlust and, more beautifully, a mellowing view of the world.

With music and casting, Kors has always known how to get under the skin of his audience. In the past, he has often wrapped up his show with an upbeat pop classic or a Mr. New York kind of tune as he dashes down the runway, so the choice of this particular Faithfull song was a difference. And his cast seemed to include a few more older models than usual, all wearing minimal makeup and a look of genuine confidence.

The collection was one of the designer’s best in a while because it was clea

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