Busy around the studio
I’ve been so busy around the studio the past few weeks, and all it’s all coming to a head in the next couple of days. Yesterday and today I’m finishing up my fittings for the fall collection which will be shown tomorrow. This morning I’m having the hair and makeup meeting, one of my favorite things to do. That’s when one of the models from the upcoming collection comes in and I, together with the hair stylist, the makeup artist and my fashion stylists work on creating a beauty look to go with the clothes for the show. It’s fun ‘cause you decide how to make pretty girls even prettier with a lot of expert advice. I have to finish up writing the program, like the play-list for the collection. My big inspiration for the program is this book called “An Exaltation of Larks” by James Lipton. For a minute I was considering calling the collection A Slouching of Fall but decided to call it simply Isaac Mizrahi Fall 2008.
Today, I also have some people from Saks Fifth Avenue coming in to see the new men’s collection, which opened in the showroom two weeks ago and which is gorgeous beyond expectations. There have been many appointments in the showroom and today is among the last. At any rate, right after the Saks appointment the showroom gets cleared and the runway gets set up for the collection show tomorrow. Then a whole whirlwind of lights and chairs and seating cards and sound equipment gets moved in. . . it’s a lot of work to get the show up and running. But, it’s one of the most fun times of year chez Mizrahi.
After all that. . . which exhausts me to think about. . . really early on Thursday morning we have a live showing of the collection on “Good Morning America.” Co-host Robin Roberts is going to walk the runway in a gorgeous red sequin dress at the end. Tune in because it’s the first time anything like this has been done, where a designer is recreating his collection the day after in a live presentation. I’m so excited and honored to be the one to pioneer this event. Yes, it’s a little added stress but it’s also another opportunity for me to stage a fashion show and boy I love those fashion shows.
And it just keeps coming. . . after the “GMA” taping I’m hosting a tiny tea for a few of my great couture customers to show the collection to them. Since the runway show is smaller in scale, this is a more intimate way for my girls to see the show. Plus it’ll be a stress-less, fun experience for all involved and I’ll get to have tea with my girls. . . who I adore. (Oh. . . and I have an interview with Gayle King on her radio show sometime in the middle of all this on Thursday. Tune in!)
This has been a big month for me. Besides preparing for the collection tomorrow and the “GMA” collection Thursday, and showing the men’s collection these past few weeks, I’ve been working hard at launching my fabulous new website. We’ve been taping segments and editing pictures and writing captions and blogs for months and months and finally it launched last Friday and was a resounding success. Not to mention that tonight I’m hosting a book party at Bergdorf Goodman along with Gloria Vanderbilt and Patrick McCarthy for a book about a great, great figure in the fashion world, Kenneth Paul Block. Kenneth worked as a fashion illustrator for the better part of the 20th century. His work appeared constantly in WWD for years not to mention thousands of other publications. His work was a major source of inspiration to me in my formative years and I might even say it’s because of his work that I was so drawn to fashion in the first place. I must say hosting a cocktail party the night before one’s collection sounds daunting but really it’s a pleasure. I can’t describe to you the agony of waiting around the night before for the darling samplehands to finish all the sewing. At least with a big party to host I can take my mind off the last minute crunch for the show tomorrow. It’s a nice change of scenery for a few hours and then onto tomorrow. Tomorrow is a big day!
