Anyone who loves fashion knows his name, Isaac Mizrahi. This past Saturday I went into NYC to see his exhibit “An Unruly History” at the Jewish Museum. In true Mizrahi style I was blown away by color, texture, form, and definitely NOT disappointed.
“I’m all about exuberance. We only have one short life to live, and we shouldn’t waste it being tasteful.”
Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi began collecting and categorizing swatches in the late 1980’s. All of the swatches are organized by color regardless of their material. This impressive wall is what you see first when you enter the gallery.
Isaac Mizrahi is a true creative genius, his inspiration seems to come from everywhere and he has no fear of mixing styles, fabrics, and textures that were not previously the norm. Everything I saw looked totally wearable and yet completely elegant.
He has done a lot of work with the theatre, ballet, movies, TV, and his fashion lines have always had a theatrical twist to them.
I love this dress made of paillettes that were made from Coca-Cola cans. Mizrahi worked with a charity called We Can, who hired homeless New Yorkers to gather and flatten the Coke cans, which were then sent to a luxury sequin maker in Paris named Langlois-Martin. There they cut all the aluminum into paillettes and then sent them with the dress patterns to India to be hand-embroidered onto the silk before being returned to New York to Mizrahi’s studio. This dress is from his 1994 spring line.
I love, love, love this t-shirt with an acrylic lobster on the shoulder, an homage to Elsa Schiaparelli and the surrealist movement. Talk about a fabulous altered tee! DIY anyone?
Fashion illustrations for days!
The video installation gives you an even closer look into his creative mind. I loved seeing his creative influences from movies, to actresses, to theatre, to different cultures, it was truly inspiring.
I want to end with one of my favorite quotes of his:
“Remember this: No one is looking at your imperfections, they’re all too busy worrying about their own.”
If you’re in NYC before August 7th, be sure to check out this fabulous exhibit at the Jewish Museum.
