Michael Kors retail locales have been popping up left and right. His newest store will be replacing the 7,000 sq. ft. Rockefeller Center shop at 49th Street and Channel Gardens currently housing Kenneth Cole (which is slated to close its doors this April, along with eight other full-price locations). The much-sought-after space will don marble floors, wood displays and a zebra hide motif.

Ready-to-wear from the Michael Michael Kors line alongside accessories from the Michael Kors, Michael Michael Kors, and Kors Michael Kors collections will be featured.

“The opening of my lifestyle flagship boutique at Rockefeller Center is an extremely humbling and exciting reality,” Kors said. “As both a designer and a native New Yorker, what could be more incredible than a store in the heart of the city at Rockefeller Center?”

Michael Kors is making big moves all over the world with lifestyle boutiques already in operation in Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK-just to name a few.

The brand is currently eyeing space on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, Madison Avenue in New York as well as a three-year plan to open 50 stores in the greater China region. {Daily Front Row}

The most unexpected aspiration? Kors would follow Vera Wang in jumping on the burger bandwagon if asked by the right chain. “I want a deal with In-N-Out Burger — to do a special sauce or a wrapper. I’m horseradish-obsessed!” {LA Times} Not sure if an In-N-Out burger with purchase will draw in the fashionistas, but if anyone can make it work, it would probably be Kors.

Kors thinks the future British royal shares style similarities with American royalty

We already predicted that Kate Middleton would inspire the same type of retail adoration that Michelle Obama commands since both are known for mixing mall/high street brands with high fashion and it seems that pre-fall name-hater Michael Kors has similar sentiments.

“When I designed the outfit for the Michelle’s first official portrait no one thought she would wear matte jersey but she did. Past women in the same position had always worn a tailored suit. When I look at Kate I see a changing of the guard in what is considered elegant. She is likes to look easy but chic. I would liken her to Obama and Carla Bruni in that way. All these women are in situations where they shaking off the formal suits of their predecessors,” says Kors. {Vogue UK via the Cut}

Mrs. Obama has a few decades of life and accomplishment in general on Middleton and we’re not sure about the Carla Bruni comparison, but the future princess is certainly on her way towards becoming a modern style icon. Style may not be the best judge of someone’s personality, but Middleton’s refusal to let tradition and expectations dictate her clothing choices suggests that she may retain some of the experiences that allow her to relate to a larger public instead of getting caught up in the trappings of a title.

If that doesn’t pan out, at least on some items you’ll still be able to shop like a princess and retailers will surely try to get you to relate to that.

Michael Kors thinks you'd appreciate this dress more if the collection in which it appeared had a different name.

“Everyone knows now that resort is important, but because the name ‘pre-fall’ is so ugly no one wants to acknowledge that these are the clothes you actually put in your closet,” he said at his recent pre-fall presentation.

Kors is certainly correct about that last part. Pre-fall collections typically consist of more commercially appealing looks than the fall/winter runway shows, but more interest is directed toward the latter likely just for this reason – because fall/winter runway collections are edgier and riskier, thus more intriguing.

As for his opinion that pre-fall gets the shaft because of its “ugly” name, Kors may be right that the name is a problem, but it is not simply because pre-fall is “ugly.” Our guess is that the average consumer thinks pre-fall is merely a preview of what is to come in the traditional fall/winter fashion week shows and thus does not realize they are missing anything.

It is also possible that the name pre-fall is not to blame. Resort shows likely get a decent amount of attention, not because the name resort is prettier than pre-fall, but because they belong to a more specific, obvious purpose (beach-going, cruising, etc.) and tend to be very distinctly summer-y compared to typical spring collections. In other words, resort shows give shoppers something that is more clearly missing from spring shows. Plus, U.S. Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour reportedly wanted more resort shows this year {Fashionologie}, and her influence is large enough that she got her wish, which is likely another reason people pay more attention to resort than pre-fall.

So Kors is right that the pre-fall image needs some revamping. A name change may help, but educating consumers on the difference between pre-fall and fall/winter collections (and why they should pay attention to both) would likely be more of a game changer. The average person doesnâ€t always understand how fashion works simply because a lot of it is never explained.

We think Neiman’s has an interesting approach to surviving the hardship. The new Dallas branch is built in a not-so-wealthy neighborhood, and the company has cut down on staffing to appeal to the broader demographic of middle-class shoppers.

Steven Dennis, a former Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Neiman Marcus has wondered if there will be enough discount designer merchandise to satisfy the insatiable demand that’s been created by offline discounters as well as online sale sites like Gilt and RueLaLa.

“Industry incumbents suddenly woke up to the fact that there is a large segment of affluent consumers who really like to get a deal and donâ€t necessarily want to head out to the sticks to the factory outlet mall (Nordstrom–you get a pass because you figured this out a long time ago with your Rack stores).  So Neimanâ€s and Saks started experimenting with their own “flash” sales (though, shockingly, neither has yet to mount a serious online counter attack) and announce plans to accelerate the opening pace of their clearance stores,” says Dennis. {Steven P. Dennis blog} “The consumer offering is going to look a lot different in the future: fewer unbelievable deals on true designer product and more faux clearance.”

While other luxury retailers wait out the storm, Neiman Marcus will now offer merchandise in a range of $45 to $300 , which is estimated to be priced at a discount of 40%  or more. With Gilt moving into full priced sales, it will be interesting to see who ends up claiming the premium designer discount market. Dennis predicts that more of those $45-300 “deals” will actually be manufactured specifically for that price point, rather than true discounts on $90-600 merchandise.

For those of us who love great fashion and are on a budget (think Michael Kors, Badgley Mischka, DVF, BCBG and more) this still sounds promising. While there have been misses, there have been plenty more hits for stores like Target and H&M who regularly offer designer lines in a more affordable price range (see: Zac Posen’s blowout shopping bash). For stores and designers, becoming a regular source for mid-range collections (even if disguised as designer discounts) could be key to not only surviving tough economic times, but thriving among consumers who want to shop, but still aren’t comfortable making extravagant purchases.

But that was only the beginning. The late Lee Alexander McQueen will have a place in fashion history not only for his tailoring and thought provoking designs, but likely as one of the people who shoved fashion communication forward as well. His final Paris show, broadcast live on SHOWstudio with multiple cameras, dazzling lights and clothing that would stand out in any stage production, firmly eschewed the thought that showmanship in fashion is only for a select few. While some are grappling with ways of bringing the professional trade show element of fashion week back to the forefront, if this season’s New York fashion week is any indication, we’re only seeing the beginning of fashion as entertainment for all. Proenza Schouler, who broadcast their show at 8pm tonight, are making it an even more business savvy move {Fashionologie} by selling runway bags for 24 hours after the show. This follows in the footsteps of a live broadcast, immediate sales strategy successfully employed by Burberry {Wall Street Journal}.

Alexander Wang F/W 2010 Show, Broadcast on SHOWstudio

In the past 5 days, we’ve seen the live broadcast of shows from Michael Angel, Lacoste, Alexander Wang, Men’s Calvin Klein collection, Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs, Rodarte and G-Star. Today, Michael Kors and William Rast join the list. Tomorrow’s streams start with Marc Bouwer and Isaac Mizraahi, and conclude with Women’s Calvin Klein collection stream.

While SHOWstudio, the site which broadcast McQueen’s last show, is a pioneer in the medium of broadcasting live fashion events online, the other favorites are decidedly mass. Robert Duffy, Marc Jacobs’ CEO, tweeted live before and during the show as people tuned in online. Lacoste and Calvin Klein didn’t just broadcast on their websites, but prominently on their Facebook pages as well. Noticeably absent, is YouTube, which would seem to be an obvious choice.

Why Facebook? For Calvin Klein, “using Facebook as the platform for the live stream is appealing because of the real-time social chat functionality that isn’t possible on video-focused sites. We also think that Calvin Klein’s Facebook page offers current, relevant content, and allows our fans to engage and share it with their friends, so it makes sense to direct them there.”

And therein lies the real shift in communication. While some brands are still noticeably absent from the conversations taking place online, the walls surrounding direct communication are slowly coming down at the highest levels.

It remains to be seen if the live internet show trend continues, grows or wanes, but the trepidation surrounding being an active participant in social media seems to be outweighed by the prospect that exclusivity will result in a missed opportunity to connect with customers.

Malcolm Carfrae, Executive Vice-President of Communications for Calvin Klein, says “We continue to explore new opportunities to expand the reach of our brands and create more touch-points for our consumers to interact directly with our brands and our creative directors. We think that this is a great opportunity for us to share our collections with a larger audience. Italo and Francisco are both very excited to have so many more people experience their shows in real time.”

Live Streamed Fashion Shows

Today

William Rast in association with Sony, 7pm EST Click here to view {WilliamRast.com}

Proenza Schouler, 8pm EST Click here to view {ProenzSchouler.com}

Tomorrow

Marc Bouwer, 9am EST Click here to view {MarcBouwer.com}

Isaac Mizraahi, 12pm EST Click here to view {IsaacMizraahi.com}

Women’s Calvin Klein collection, 3pm EST Click here to view {CalvinKlein.com} also on Facebook {Calvin Klein page}