Isaac Mizrahi

This poignant memoir by an awkward, chunky Sephardic boy, who knew he was born gay and who felt alienated from his family and from the world is a primer in dreaming big but remaining unsatisfied. Within his insular Syrian Brooklyn neighborhood, Isaac designs puppet costumes and scenery and puts on shows in his garage, already feeling a yearning to be surrounded by sumptuous fabrics and by elegant people. Leaving the family and notably his father, who is perpetually displeased with him, to show more attend the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts ("Fame") in Manhattan and the Parsons School of Design is a major step, but when he needs to choose between being a singer and being a fashion designer - though later in life, he gets to be both! After graduation and designing ballet costumes, he attracts the attention of major fashion royalty, such as Anna Wintour, Perry Ellis, Manolo Blahnik, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass; photographer Richard Avedon; and movie people like Lauren Bacall, Audrey Hepburn, Liza Minnelli, Sandra Bernhard, Sarah Jessica Parker, Aretha, and Streisand. Isaac is also an insomniac, hates his body, and is overwhelmed by dark moods. His 1995, documentary, Unzipped, about his comeback after losing favor in the fickle fashion world, wins an Audience Award at Sundance. Also examined are his collaborations with Chanel - which ended in 1998 with the advent of "heroin chic", and with Target in 2003, which was much more successful. The memoir ends with his challenging transition from fashion to creating and performing in a solo cabaret show, Les MIZrahi, adopting a dog, launching a talk show, and marrying a longtime boyfriend. He was honored with a retrospective of his career at the Jewish Museum in 2016.

" I was surprised to encounter a certain shallowness in my own personal character. The ugliest, most competitive part of my nature sometimes takes over." show less

One reason I have given for abandoning books (see my "shelf" named "abandoned") is because I couldn't relate to the subject matter, most recently a novel whose protagonist races motorcycles, yet here is one, ostensibly about topics and people I have no interest in which I am giving 5 stars. I realized that it wasn't the topics themselves I couldn't relate to, but that their writers assumed I would find these topics interesting as a given. Or at least that I would find the protagonist's show more interests interesting as a given. I'm then left to conjure up an interest on my own with no motivation to do so.

I went into this book knowing nothing about Isaac Mizrahi but that he was involved in fashion and that he once insulted an acquaintance of mine. My interest in fashion was nil and I took the insult as a sign of hostility, misogyny, and arrogance. I didn't even know Isaac was gay. I only started the book in the first place because it was around (for someone else to read).

I can only explain my response by saying the book created an amazing intimacy between us and I became interested in its topics as one would the interests of a lover. I now see his "insult" as probably defensive or meant to be teasing in a context similar to the one occurring with his first meeting of Mark Morris in which when their introducer suggested Isaac design for Morris's dance company and Morris replied "I only work with artists," Isaac countered that he only designed for thin dancers (a reference to a recent review in which Morris's dancers were found insufficiently underweight.)

One aspect of this work is that the anecdotes he tells reveal reactions to those he encounters that I guess would be news to those others when and if they read it in this book--not because they needed to be kept secret, but because it's not the kind of thing one normally reveals. It's that commitment to his personal point of view without tailoring it to those who will receive it that I imagine accounts for the success of Isaac's creations. I have to imagine because this book is the only one of his works I have experienced. show less

I.M. is a well written memoir. The early stuff about Issac growing up, his complicated relationship with his parents and the Jewish religion resonates. His early artistic flourishes from puppet shows and female impersonations gives the reader a stunning foundation as to how he became a fashion icon later in life.
After his father dies, Issac touchingly writes “I loved my father and how much sadness it gives me to admit this, I was really only able to live my life-to thrive-after he died. show more There was no way I could live as an openly gay man without the fear that he might find out and be crushed.”
The only negative comments I have relates to the details of the designing world that border on overkill. Unfortunately, if you aren’t a fashion design student, these passages may be less than compelling.
When he reaches the heights of success, he has difficulty coping. Despite seeing a physiatrist, he found more comfort from psychics, numerologists, astrologists, mediums, and tarot card readers. Since it is the job of designers to predict what everyone wants to wear, it wasn’t farfetched for him to dabble with the occult.

His second career as a cabaret singer brings a sweetness to the memoir and makes for a worthwhile read. show less

I like Mizrahi's message to women to be comfortable in their skin, but also to take care and be healthy. What I didn't like was that some of the style choices seemed to be leaning toward the runway ridiculous. But I wondered how much of his personal opinion/taste intervened with the choices; like which shoes were a no, when they weren't even on a woman. But that being said, I also liked his message about women trying a little harder to dress up instead of putting on the old stand by of jeans show more and dressing it up for a night out on the town. It takes less effort to put on a cute dress.
And just as a side, I think women should be more supportive of others and not give the evil eye when a woman has dressed nice and made the effort. Especially when the evil eye owner is wearing sweats. ;-) I'm just saying. show less