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Feb 19, 2009
With Kate Betts, Coco Rocha, and Linda Wells.
Brooklyn-born designer Isaac Mizrahi launched his eponymous clothing label in 1986 at Bergdorf Goodman, and presented his first fashion show the following year. The label was picked up by Chanel SA in 1994, and Mizrahi launched a line of affordable IS**C sportswear and dresses. Chanel subsequently withdrew financial backing in 1998. The Mizrahi label encompasses womenswear, menswear, home furnishings, shoes, and handbags. From 2003 to 2008, it was also widely recognized for Mizrahi’s partnership with Target, for whom he created a line of apparel, accessories, and home furnishings. Mizrahi relaunched his couture collection in New York to great acclaim in 2003. Always a proponent of color, wearability, and feminine fun, Mizrahi’s latest collections are luxurious, skewing to a deb that’s more sophisticate than sophomore. In 2008, he relaunched his men’s line and was tapped as the creative director for Liz Claiborne womenswear and accessories.
“Anyone who witnessed Mizrahi’s shows in the late ’80s and early ’90s felt exhilarated by his humor and his notion of American style: the black dance dress, the parka and toggle coat, the gingham shirt always seemed to be on his mind. …It’s doubtful that he pays much attention to insiders’ opinions. In this respect, he is very similar to Claiborne herself. … Mizrahi’s designs, then, are not likely to follow a predictable pattern. They are going to be surprising and varied and possibly innovative.”—Cathy Horyn T Magazine
“In contrast to aloof, whippet-thin Europeans like Hedi Slimane (formerly of Dior Homme) or Christopher Bailey (Burberry), Mr. Mizrahi is a Jew from Brooklyn who tells you all his foibles before you have the chance to notice them; has a complicated relationship with ice cream; and measures success in terms of how many people are wearing his clothes.”—Meredith Bryan The New York Observer
“Isaac was born a 'brand.' He was probably talking, and talking fast, at 6 months.”—Linda Fargo, Senior Vice President, Bergdorf Goodman The New York Observer
Isaac Mizrahi