Billionaire fashion designer Michael Kors announced this week that he was buying Versace in a multibillion dollar deal.

In a $2.1 billion acquisition, Kors bought the last independent Italian brands in an effort to build an empire to rival major European companies.

The New York born designer, whose mother is Jewish, dropped out of college to become a fashion designer. His company, which he will rename Capri Holdings Limited once the Versace deal is complete, also purchased Jimmy Choo in 2017.

Fashion critics believe that with these acquisitions he is “building what is virtually unknown.”

According to fashion historian Bronwyn Cosgrave, Kors "will not only be the figurehead behind his own name brand but could become known for revitalizing a legendary European brand, which no American designer has accomplished."

In an interview with Algemeiner, Kors compared the shows he puts on to his Bar Mitzvah. “I throw two Bar Mitzvahs a year—I always say that! Except my bar mitzvah was in the seventies and it was full of really ugly colours.”