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Edited by on December 5 2011 at 7:32 AM

Michael Kors will soon be up to his sensible crew-necks in dough thanks to a initial public offering set for Friday valuing the company at $3.63 billion.

Michael Kors Taking $3.6B Company to Wall Street

By week’s end, Kors will realize what it has taken him over 30 years to accomplish when his IPO finally launches. Michael Kors Holdings plans on selling up to 48 million shares of the company, under the ticker “KORS,” on the New York Stock Exchange. For his part, the designer will be well-compensated for his patience as Kors stands to make as much as $111 million in the process.

Kors signed a deal in July guaranteeing him “creative and aesthetic control” of the Michael Kors brand as well as employment with the company until he dies, becomes disabled, or is dismissed for “cause.” In addition to the $111 mil, Kors will also receive a minimum salary of $2.5 million for life and a bevy of bonuses including a car, driver, and health club membership.

It’s been a bumpy ride to the top for Kors and co. who had to file for bankruptcy 20 years ago: “When we were in Chapter 11 in the early Nineties, I had been at it for over a decade, which I thought was a really long time. Now I’m like, ‘I was a neophyte’…I finally realized that if I had to go back to square one, that if I was just honest and authentic, it would work. It’s what works. You have to know yourself.”

See, kids? Working hard, staying true to yourself and practicing little to no discretion in the application of self-tanner inevitably lead to incredible levels of success — take notes. [WWD, sub req'd]

Story by Lester Brathwaite

I was center square from 1969 to 1978, during which I perfected the art of the zing as well as a crippling cocaine addiction. Bea Arthur was responsible for both. @LesFabian lester at fashionindie.com