Fashion Icons

1983 was a major year for Willi Smith . The New York City-based designer won the Coty American Fashion Critics Award for Womenswear— only the second Black designer to do so. When he was first nominated in 1967, Smith was the youngest designer ever in the running for the prestigious title. His brand, WilliWear, is credited as the pioneer to the streetwear movement we know today. Willi Smith: Street Couture , a retrospective exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt museum, explores the

Rubina Khan hosts Fern Mallis on the latest edition of her Instagram Live series: RUBINA’S RADAR When Fern speaks with her friend Rubina, the journalist and photographer in Mumbai, these two fashion insiders discuss Mallis’ contribution to the fashion industry, from creating New York Fashion Week, to her popular interview series “Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis” at the 92 nd Street Y. Learn more about what Mallis is up to, including taking the Fashion Icons brands digital,

Over the past decade, no topic has been off-limits as Fern Mallis conducted in-depth interviews with fashion’s most legendary at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. Video archives from “Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis” are now available on the 92Y YouTube channel . This month the channel highlights conversations with designers who “give a damn” including Christian Siriano for believing in size inclusivity and diversity, Eileen Fisher for sustainability, and Bethann Hardison

The life and times of Elie Tahari are coming to the big screen. The fashion designer will be the subject of a feature documentary to be released on Amazon Prime Video in March. The film is produced and directed by David Serero, an actor, director, producer and opera singer. The film, entitled “The United States of Elie Tahari” traces Tahari’s life from his upbringing in Israel, where he lived in a refugee camp, to his arrival in New York in 1971 — unable to speak English a

Press Release NEW YORK, February 2021 -- Fern Mallis, the Fashion industry doyenne most recognized as the founder of New York Fashion Week, is embarking on the next chapter of her popular 92 nd Street Y conversation series Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis : the launch of an always-on digital platform, Fashion Icons: The Archive ( watch the playlist starting February 10, 2021 ) , to share the intimate and behind the scenes stories of many of the fashion industry’s pioneers and

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Although IMG seems to be making plans to have physical shows during New York Fashion Week in September, as reported in WWD on Wednesday, most of the major designers contacted aren’t planning to have a full-blown runway show in New York. Most said they would do small presentations or show virtually. Fern Mallis, an industry consultant and creator of New York Fashion Week, said, “I haven’t heard about anyone wanting to do anything. I applaud them for doing that , if they think

Billy Porter’s first introduction to fashion was in a Black Pentecostal church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he was born and raised. In 1991, he came to New York, and Broadway hasn’t been the same since. On Wednesday, the Emmy winner opened up about his storied career to Fern Mallis, the creator of New York Fashion Week and the host of Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis at 92Y in New York City. Click For More

DRUM ROLL PLEASE: The International Best Dressed List will be revealed in its entirety before the crack of dawn Saturday morning via Graydon Carter’s digital weekly Air Mail. The roster will have five categories this time around – Women, Men, Couples, Fashion Professionals and Hall of Fame. There are 10 women, 10 men and 10 Fashion Professionals who made the cut, and two new inductees for the Hall of Fame. Some of the winners include “Big Little Lies” actress Zoe Kravtiz for

Trendsetter Billy Porter says his first exposure to high fashion was in the black Pentecostal church in Pittsburgh where he grew up. “Every week was a fashion show, and the aisle was the runway!” the “Pose” star told Fern Mallis at the 92nd Street Y. “Where you sat in the sanctuary is how good you felt that day. The closer you sat to the pulpit, the longer the walk down the aisle, giving more time to show off your Sunday best.” Click For More

True performers never phone it in, and Billy Porter proved that point again and again during his Wednesday night talk with Fern Mallis at 92Y. Never mind that his second stop of the night would be a Carnegie Hall performance with Idina Menzel, the “Pose” star didn’t hold back in detailing the arcs and pitfalls of his life. While many in the audience applauded Porter for his 2013 Tony-winning role in “Kinky Boots,” the 50-year-old actor, singer and barrier breaker’s fame took

This remarkable organization was formed after the senseless murder in Greenwich Village of a beloved young advertising executive John Reisenbach. For 28 years the advertising and media industry has been raising funds to make NYC a safer, more secure place to live and work. They fund a myriad of community programs and initiatives. The organization awarded Fern Mallis with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 28th Annual Gala on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. Click For More

At 71, New York Fashion Week founder Fern Mallis shared with the crowd at the Carter Burden Network’s Silver and White Gala: “It’s never too late to re-invent, reboot and restart the engine.” Click For More

Today's greying Gods and Goddesses are not going gently into that good night. There's too much life to enjoy. Take Fern Mallis, the founder and face of Fashion Week. She left its helm when she was 61, took a breath and reinvented herself as president of her own fashion and design consultancy, a television and radio fashion personality and general industry representative. She was honored Monday for remaining in the game so long and well, by the Carter Burden Network (CBN), fo

In this episode, Jess and Stef sit down with the creator of New York Fashion Week, Fern Mallis. Jess and Stef recall the first time they met Fern and how the approached her on a whim, and the three discuss a foolproof way to network with anyone. Fern shares the story of how she had the idea to create NYFW, her thoughts on how fashion weeks around the world could evolve, and why it’s important that we are always adapting.This episode will have you hooked as Fern dishes out gol

The electricity went out during one of the runway shows. At another, the fashion editors got stuck in a broken elevator. But the last straw was when ceiling plaster came crumbling down on both the models on the catwalk and the press in the front row at one of the New York Market Week shows in 1991. The models brushed the dust off their shoulders and kept walking, says Fern Mallis, who served as Executive Director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America from 1991 to 200

Vanity Fair correspondent, art historian, muse to artists, photographers and designers, Amy Fine Collins has been one of the New York fashion scene's greatest influencers. She’s one of the four keepers of the International Best-Dressed List, founded by Eleanor Lambert in 1940. She’s involved with numerous institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum, the Lighthouse and Vassar College. Join her as she talks with Fern Mallis about her life inside art and fashion, sharing fa

Stan Herman , three-time Coty award-winning designer, served as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America from 1991 to 2006. In 1993, Herman and CFDA executive director Fern Mallis consolidated the events known as New York Fashion Week by staging them in white tents in Bryant Park, branding it as “7th on Sixth”. As a designer he has been honored with the CFDA’s Geoffrey Been Lifetime Achievement award for his advancement of American Fashion, and by the GMHC fo

From his Tony-winning portrayal of the big-hearted drag queen Miss Lola in Kinky Boots to his groundbreaking Emmy nominated role on HBO’s Pose to his joy-sparking cover of “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” Billy Porter brings truly iconic, activist style to everything he touches. And now he’s caught the attention of fashion gurus with bold and stylish moments on the red carpet. Fern Mallis sits down with the Grammy-winning recording artist/activist/Broadway star