Isaac Mizrahi

Isaac Mizrahi (born October 14, 1961)<ref name="Britannica">Template:Britannica</ref> is an American fashion designer, actor, singer, television presenter and chief designer of the Isaac Mizrahi brand for Xcel Brands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Based in New York City, he is best known for his eponymous fashion lines. Mizrahi was previously a judge on Project Runway All Stars. In 2022 he played Amos Hart in the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago.

Early life

Mizrahi was born in Brooklyn, the son of Sarah and Zeke Mizrahi,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who was a children's clothing manufacturer.<ref name="Britannica"/> He is of Syrian-Jewish descent. His maternal grandparents were Jews from Aleppo, Syria.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He grew up as the youngest boy of his family in Midwood, Brooklyn.<ref name="Free to Be">Template:Cite news</ref> He bought his first sewing machine at the age of ten with money he had saved from babysitting that summer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fashion career

A dress Mizrahi designed in 1994-95 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion

Mizrahi presented his first collection in 1987 at a trunk show held by New York department store Bergdorf Goodman. The line immediately earned praise from fashion editors, prompting several top retailers to place orders.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1989, he discussed his designs in an interview with Elizabeth Cannon. He described them as "controlled and glamorous", "elegant", "distilled, refined", inspired by decadence, and by the diversity of New York City. He also expressed his interest in appealing to a refined and exclusive clientele.<ref>Cannon, Elizabeth http://bombsite.com/issues/29/articles/1259 Template:Webarchive, "BOMB Magazine" Fall 1989. Retrieved on July 19, 2011.</ref> In 1992, the French fashion house Chanel bought a stake in the company and began to bankroll its operations.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Despite continued critical acclaim, sales were inconsistent; Bloomingdale's executive Kal Ruttenstein stated that Mizrahi had "good years and bad years."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This volatility is mainly attributedTemplate:By whom to the designer's failure to establish a defined aesthetic or "Mizrahi look", as the frenetic designer was famed for changing gears each season. Though the company grossed $10–20 million a year, it never made a profit, and lost substantial amountsTemplate:Clarify in its final four years of operation. Chanel eventually tired of the mounting losses and pulled financing in October 1998, forcing the closure of the company after the Fall 1998 collection.<ref name="newsweek.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Among Mizrahi's fans and clients were Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman, Selma Blair, Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, Debra Messing and Natalie Portman.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>

From 1995 to 1997, Mizrahi also designed a diffusion line, named "IS**C" in an act of "name effacement" intended to prevent dilution of the designer's full name. This lower-priced line (in the $275 to $850 range) was meant to diversify the label from the very expensive Isaac Mizrahi collection, but it failed to gain traction and was shuttered in 1997.<ref name="newsweek.com"/>

Mizrahi returned to fashion in 2002 with the launch of Isaac Mizrahi for Target, a diffusion line that became a major commercial success. The collection eventually expanded to include accessories, bedding, housewares, and pet products. Over five years, sales tripled to more than $300 million, establishing Mizrahi as a household name.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Target line was discontinued in 2008 when Mizrahi departed to design for Liz Claiborne.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, Liz Claiborne—a brand founded in 1976—was struggling.<ref name=Disaster>Template:Cite news</ref> After Mizrahi's contract with Target expired, Liz Claiborne outbid the retailer for his services, hoping he could reinvigorate the brand.<ref name=Disaster/> However, the partnership lasted only one year.<ref name=Disaster/>

The 2009 collection, rebranded as Liz Claiborne New York, was sold in national department stores such as Macy's, Belk, and Dillard's, as in previous years.<ref name="New Look">Template:Cite news</ref> The Liz Claiborne logo was also redesigned.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Mizrahi's Spring/Summer 2009 collection debuted in January, followed by his Fall 2009 collection in April, and a Holiday line later that year.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Distribution>Template:Cite press release</ref> Advertising campaigns for the spring and fall collections featured Mizrahi alongside women of various sizes, races, and ages, and appeared in major fashion magazines.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Despite these efforts, the line sold poorly.<ref name=Disaster/><ref name=Whiz>Template:Cite news</ref> The weak performance was attributed primarily to the economic downturn and strategic missteps made before Mizrahi's arrival.<ref name=Disaster/><ref name=Whiz/> His bold use of color and playful aesthetic may also have clashed with Liz Claiborne's more conservative customer base.<ref name=Whiz/> In late 2009, the Liz Claiborne brand was licensed to J.C. Penney—which had carried the Liz&Co. diffusion line since 2007—and was later acquired by the retailer.<ref name=Disaster/><ref name=Distribution/> Mizrahi does not design the J.C. Penney version of the brand.<ref name=Distribution/> His Liz Claiborne New York collection was moved to QVC, where it remained until his contract ended in December 2016.<ref name=Distribution/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2010, Mizrahi launched a label called IsaacMizrahiLIVE! exclusively on QVC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2011, Mizrahi sold his brand to Xcel Brands, Inc.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition to continuing the IsaacMizrahiLIVE! business on QVC, Xcel Brands launched various categories under the Isaac Mizrahi New York, Isaac Mizrahi Jeans, and Isaac Mizrahi brands. As of August 2012, footwear and denim have launched in Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom, and Mizrahi's first-ever fragrance, Fabulous, was set to debut September 6 on QVC, and in Bloomingdale's in October. Mizrahi remained a shareholder, creative director, and media personality for his namesake brand under Xcel.Template:Update inline

Media

Mizrahi has made appearances in numerous television shows and movies since the 1990s. Including the 1993 Michael J. Fox comedy, For Love or Money, as an up-and-coming fashion designer, Julian Russell. In 1995, a movie was released about the development of his Fall 1994 collection called Unzipped. In Fall 2005, the Isaac show debuted on Style Network. He previously had a show on the Oxygen network.Template:Citation needed

Mizrahi appears on many of E!'s programs and has become well known for being flamboyant. He also appeared as himself in the episode "Plus One is the Loneliest Number" of the fifth season of Sex and the City, and in an episode of Spin City. He guest starred on the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, in which he played a reporter for the cable channel Fashion TV in the episode "Lose the Boss". He appeared as himself in The Apprentice season 1 (episode 6) as one of the celebrities supporting an auction for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. He also appeared on the public radio game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in 2006, saying, "Fat is the new black".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also appeared in a Season 4 episode of Gossip Girl.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mizrahi has stated that he sees himself as an entertainer who can sing and act. On his Oxygen show, he sang jazz in a nightclub. He has also acted in films, appearing in Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks, Hollywood Ending and Celebrity.Template:Citation needed

Mizrahi was a contestant in the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational. While initially finishing second in a quarter-final game to Jane Curtin, as the highest scoring non-qualifier, he replaced semi-finalist Andy Richter, who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. He eventually lost to Michael McKean.Template:Citation needed

In 2006, Mizrahi designed pro bono the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery's conservators' denim work aprons.<ref name="NPR 30 June">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Mizrahi aprons">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2009, Mizrahi began co-hosting the first season of The Fashion Show on Bravo with singer Kelly Rowland. Bravo launched the series to replace its former hit Project Runway, which then moved to the Lifetime network.<ref name="NJAPF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Sntfsuc">Template:Cite web</ref> Mizrahi returned as co-host in November 2010 for the show's second season, opposite a close friend and colleague, supermodel Iman, who previously hosted the Canadian version of Project Runway. A representative of the network indicated that Bravo believed Mizrahi's exciting presenting style would work well with newcomer Iman and the credibility that she brought as a genuine pioneer in the fashion world.<ref name="Sijbfs">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2012, Mizrahi participated in the debut season of Project Runway: All Stars as a head judge, alongside Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, which aired on the Lifetime TV Network.Template:Citation needed

In February 2012, Mizrahi served as red carpet correspondent for Live with Kelly during the 84th Annual Academy Awards. The segment included interviews with Brad Pitt, Emma Stone, Rooney Mara, and Gwyneth Paltrow. It aired the morning after the Oscars, during a special episode of Live with Kelly.Template:Citation needed

In 2013, Mizrahi played himself in the final season of Showtime's The Big C.Template:Citation needed

Controversy

In 2006 Mizrahi was the center of a scandal when he groped actress Scarlett Johansson's breast while conducting an interview for E! at the Golden Globes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a 2013 George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight interview, Mizrahi attempted to minimize the incident, stating: "This wasn't nasty ... This was like, 'Are you wearing a bra? Are you wearing an underwire bra?' And she was like, 'Oh well.' "<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Costume design

Mizrahi has worked as the costume designer for three Broadway revivals, including two plays (The Women (2001) and Barefoot in the Park (2006)), and one operetta (Threepenny Opera (2006)).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

For his work on The Women, Mizrahi won the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mizrahi was the costume designer for the Metropolitan Opera production of Orfeo ed Euridice (2008), directed by Mark Morris. Mizrahi has been a longtime collaborator with Morris in a partnership dating from 1997, when Mizrahi created costumes for a Morris film project with Yo-Yo Ma, Falling Down Stairs, from Ma's Inspired By Bach series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other projects

• He made a series of comic books called Isaac Mizrahi Presents the Adventures of Sandee the Supermodel, published by Simon & Schuster.Template:Citation needed
• He has also narrated the children's classic Peter and the Wolf at the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process performing arts series since December 2007.Template:Citation needed
• In 2008 he published How to Have Style (Gotham, Template:ISBN)
• In 2010, he designed the sets and costumes and directed Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music for Opera Theatre of St. Louis.<ref name="The Dallas Morning News">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=TheOperaCritic.com>Template:Cite web</ref> It has been announced that in 2014, he designed and directed Mozart's The Magic Flute for Opera Theatre of St. Louis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 2013 Johnson & Johnson released a series of Band-Aid adhesive bandages with an Isaac Mizrahi theme.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 2016, Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History, Mizrahi's first career retrospective exhibition, opened at The Jewish Museum, New York. It was organized by Chee Pearlman, Guest Curator and Kelly Taxter, The Jewish Museum's Barnett and Annalee Newman Curator of Contemporary Art.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History was on view from March 18 to August 7, and accompanied by a catalog published by Yale University Press, featuring essays by Kelly Taxter, Lynn Yaeger, and Ulrich Lehman, with an introduction by Chee Pearlman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 2019 he published his memoir, IM, (Flatiron Books, Template:ISBN)

Personal life

Mizrahi married his partner of six years, Arnold Germer, in a civil ceremony in New York City Hall on November 30, 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In popular culture

After reading for Montgomery, he took part as Touchstone in Alan Parker's film Fame, set in the same High School of Performing Arts he had been attending at the time.<ref>Catherine Shoard "We were dancing on cars in the epicenter of porn and filth!" An oral history of Fame, 40 years on, The Guardian, 19 August 2020.</ref>

He appears briefly in the film Men in Black (1997) as one of the "celebrity aliens" granted asylum on Earth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1996, an early MTV prank show, Buzzkill, used an actor to impersonate Mizrahi.Template:Citation needed

Mizrahi was a guest caller on an episode of Frasier and as himself in Sex and the City (Season 5, episode 5).Template:Citation needed

He appeared on Gossip Girl (Season 4, episode 6) as himself. He is seen at a party talking to Lily van der Woodsen.Template:Citation needed

In 2004, he appeared on an episode of The Apprentice during a challenge meant to raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He appeared in the fourth and final season of The Big C as himself.<ref name="InStyle00009">Template:Cite news</ref>

He appeared on the QVC Shopping Channel in 2015 and proclaimed that Earth's Moon was in fact a planet. His co-host at the time, Shawn Killinger, vehemently denied this assertion and proclaimed that "the Moon is a star".<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2018, Mizrahi was mentioned in episode 212, “Kiss and Tell,” of Modern Family when Cam claims that he dismissed a sexual advance by Mizrahi prior to dating Mitchell.

In January of 2024, Mizrahi appeared as a guest judge on the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

In 2025, he is a Consulting Producer on Hulu's sitcom Mid-Century Modern, which stars Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, Nathan Lee Graham and Linda Lavin.

See also

• List of Jewish Americans
• LGBT culture in New York City
• List of LGBT people from New York City

External links

• Isaac Mizrahi on CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America)
• Isaac Mizrahi archive of runway collections at Vogue
• Template:TED speaker
• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Fashiondesigner