‘At the time, whenever I had to wear a shirt, or anything that I wanted to tuck in, I would always tuck it into my underwear,’ the designer explained in an essay on The Daily Beast. ‘I thought, maybe we can combine classic men’s briefs with shirts, sweatshirts, T-shirts. And I ended up with the unfortunate idea of bodysuits for men.’

Kors created a one-piece garment that made it appear as though the wearer was dressed in briefs and a shirt. In fact, the garment was a onesie that fastened with snaps at the crotch.

The invention was about as successful as you’d imagine, even in its designer’s experience: ‘I got back to New York and decided that I had to test-run them myself. I lasted about half an hour. The tugging, the digging, the snaps, the discomfort,’ he wrote.

But his misadventures in oversized Babygrows did teach Kors a lesson about aspirational design that seems to have stuck.

‘I realized that as a designer, even if you can’t wear something, you have to want to wear it. It was a clarifying moment that regardless of what I make—a woman’s shoe, a man’s jacket, a handbag, an evening dress—I have to be empathetic to the people who are buying it. Can you put yourself in their shoes?’