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The American Dream of Fashion (Isaac Mizrahi's Story)

by - edited

How I came to be

I started sewing in order to make puppets. I had a huge puppet theater in the garage and it was the center of my world. Then I began obsessively thinking about clothes because I was raised in a home with two pretty sisters and a fashion-obsessed mother who thought a lot about clothes. It was one of the main subjects in the home.

What it was like starting out in the very beginning of my journey

At the very beginning it was not scary. I never thought of what there was to lose because it wasn't about achievement as much as it was about loving the work. I did everything. I painted the studio, built the cutting tables, I sketched and draped and made patterns and sewed. I even serviced the sewing machines! I never stopped working ever. I liked it better than everything else.

Struggles along the way

My struggles were mainly focused on figuring out production and distribution. I really only cared about creating an ORIGINAL look; a distinctive American brand.

Did I ever feel like giving up?

I never felt like giving up because what I did kept changing and morphing. I never had a minute to think about failure!

Who inspired my dream?

I think my dream was inspired by the reportage of YSL when I was a kid looking at the pages of WWD. Those magical collections. The Russian peasant collection. The Chinese collection, etc. Also Geoffrey Beene was a big favorite of mine.

Someone special that helped me get to where I am

A woman named Ellie Fishman who was the foremost childrens wear designer in the country. She worked across the hall from my Dad's childrens wear showroom. She met with me when I was 13 and looked at my sketches and gave me advice including the priceless advice to go to Parsons.