The Quinn python envelope clutch in multiple color options ($995)

 
  Rene Russo and Michael Kors at his Fall 2011 afterparty
 
  Black Python embossed leather bracelet with silvertone buckle closure and Luggage Croco embossed leather bracelet with goldtone buckle closure ($175 each)

On the heels of that opening, Kors also debuted a new East Hampton location this spring, a 2,795-square-foot boutique at 10 Newtown Lane that he calls a natural fit for the brand and an extension to his already existing Southampton location at 30 Main Street. “I don’t know anywhere else in the world where you can find the sophistication that now exists in the Hamptons in terms of amazing shopping, incredible food, fabulous homes and architecture, and then the most gorgeous beaches and countryside,” he says. “It’s fun for us, also because we love being a part of that lifestyle and we’re able to design special things for that store.” Other boutique openings have likewise followed in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo; by the end of 2012, his company plans to have opened nearly 300 stores worldwide.

Kors also added jewelry to his Michael Michael Kors label earlier this summer, hosting an intimate cocktail party at his Madison Avenue store. The launch collection boasts the hallmarks of the Kors DNA—chunky gold cocktail rings and link bracelets mixed with wide cuffs in tortoise or snake, for example—all of which feel particularly well-suited to the Hamptons lifestyle. This is no accident, Kors says. “If I realized 30 years into this that what I’m all about is this yin and yang of pragmatic indulgence, what better place for that than the Hamptons?” he says. “I’ve always been a beach bum, so I love anyplace where people wear a bikini bottom with a 12-ply sweater. It’s always been everything I love about New York, except you’re in flip-flops.”

As the summer winds down, there is yet more cause for celebration. In early August, Kors and longtime partner Lance LePere, a creative director for the label, were spotted applying for a marriage license at City Hall in Manhattan. On August 16, they made it official, swapping “I do”s on Dune Beach in Southampton in a private ceremony officiated by Mayor Mark Epley. Was Kors happy? As he told WWD, “To marry someone as wonderful and special to me as Lance, barefoot on a glorious beach, is more than I could have ever dreamed of.”

Indeed, as Michael Kors reflects on this joyful year, undoubtedly it is this moment that resonates the most. Beyond standing ovations, serenades from A-list songstresses or the accolades one enjoys throughout the three decades of creating a global brand, on this particular day, Michael Kors surely was sporting a smile like none we have ever seen before.