Isaac Mizrahi

Isaac Mizrahi (born October 14, 1961) is an American fashion designer, actor, singer, television presenter and chief designer of the Isaac Mizrahi brand for Xcel Brands.

Based in New York City, he is best known for his eponymous fashion lines.

Mizrahi was previously a judge on Project Runway All Stars.

In 2022 he played Amos Hart in the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago.

Mizrahi was born in Brooklyn, the son of Sarah and Zeke Mizrahi, who was a children's clothing manufacturer.

He is of Syrian-Jewish descent.

His maternal grandparents were Jews from Aleppo, Syria.

He grew up as the youngest boy of his family in Midwood.

He bought his first sewing machine at the age of ten with money he had saved from babysitting that summer.

At 15, he launched his own label, IS New York, with the help of a family friend.

He attended Yeshivah of Flatbush, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, and the Parsons School of Design at The New School.

Mizrahi presented his first collection in 1987 at a trunk show held by New York department store Bergdorf Goodman.

The line immediately earned praise from fashion editors, prompting several top retailers to place orders.

In 1989, he discussed his designs in an interview with Elizabeth Cannon.

He described them as "controlled and glamorous", "elegant", "distilled, refined", inspired by decadence, and by the diversity of New York City.

He also expressed his interest in appealing to a refined and exclusive clientele.

In 1992, the French fashion house Chanel bought a stake in the company and began to bankroll its operations.

Despite continued critical acclaim, sales were inconsistent; Bloomingdale's executive Kal Ruttenstein stated that Mizrahi had "good years and bad years."

This volatility is mainly attributed to the designer's failure to establish a defined aesthetic or "Mizrahi look", as the frenetic designer was famed for changing gears each season.

Though the company grossed $10–20 million a year, it never made a profit, and lost substantial amounts in its final four years of operation.

From 1995 to 1997, Mizrahi also designed a diffusion line, named "IS**C" in an act of "name effacement" intended to prevent dilution of the designer's full name.

In 1996 Mizrahi collaborated with Louis Vuitton creating the 100th anniversary two way clear bag.

This lower-priced line (in the $275 to $850 range) was meant to diversify the label from the very expensive Isaac Mizrahi collection, but it failed to gain traction and was shuttered in 1997.

Chanel eventually tired of the mounting losses and pulled financing in October 1998, forcing the closure of the company after the Fall 1998 collection.

Among Mizrahi's fans and clients were Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman, Selma Blair, Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, Debra Messing and Natalie Portman.

Mizrahi returned to fashion in 2002 when he began designing another diffusion collection, Isaac Mizrahi for Target.

The line was an enormous hit, and soon spread to cover accessories, bedding, housewares, and pet products.

Sales volume tripled over five years to over $300 million and introduced the designer to mainstream America.

The line was discontinued in 2008 as Mizrahi left for Liz Claiborne.

Mizrahi designed for Claiborne for only one year, 2009.

Although advertising campaigns for his Claiborne work—featuring Mizrahi and women of all sizes, races, and ages—were found in major fashion magazines, the line was a disaster almost from launch.

The clothes and accessories were very difficult to find, as only a few minor department stores, which were not found in major cities, carried Claiborne clothes.

Gottschalks carried only a few pieces before declaring bankruptcy and liquidating, only weeks after Mizrahi's launch.

Furthermore, the few Liz Claiborne outlets that existed were also far from major cities and were found at outlet malls that were too remote for most customers to visit.

As a result, in December 2009, the Liz Claiborne website was closed and rumors abounded that the company was bankrupt and in serious debt.

As of fall 2010, Liz Claiborne clothes were sold at J.C. Penney and were not designed by Mizrahi.

In 2010, Mizrahi launched a label called IsaacMizrahiLIVE!

exclusively on QVC.

In 2011, Mizrahi sold his brand to Xcel Brands, Inc. In addition to continuing the IsaacMizrahiLIVE!

business on QVC, Xcel Brands launched various categories under the Isaac Mizrahi New York, Isaac Mizrahi Jeans, and Isaac Mizrahi brands.