Lucire
Lucire: fashion magazine homeLucire Fashion FeaturesLucire Living and Beauty Lucire Volante: travel, accommodation guide Lucire fashion news, bulletins and events Fashion shopping guide and directory
Lucire Community: interact with us, read letters to the editorLucire Updates' service: sign up Lucire Feedback
Shopping Guide Return to home page Fashion Features index

 
Jimmy Hamelin

Lucire autumn-winter 2004

Isaac Mizrahi returned with a classic collection at Ciprani’s last month that blends the high and low of fashion, reports Phillip D. Johnson

PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICHARD SPIEGEL

 

Initial capSAAC MIZRAHI is back and better than ever before! But to be fair, we all know he never really left in the first place.
   Before a star-studded audience on Tuesday, June 15, at Cipriani 42nd Street, Mr Mizrahi showcased a collection consisting of both the Isaac Mizrahi for Target and Isaac Mizrahi New York collections. After a six-year absence from the forefront of New York high fashion, Mr Mizrahi roared back with a collection that offered luxury for every woman in every financial bracket and brought back the keen sense of fun that has been sorely missing in fashion in recent years. His A-list guests included Anna Wintour of Vogue, Fairchild Publications’ Patrick McCarthy, Allure’s editor-in-chief Linda Wells, The Wall Street Journal’s Teri Agins, The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan, Iman, Candice Bergen, Diane Sawyer and husband, director Mike Nichols, stylist supreme Patricia Field, Tony Award-winning actress Bebe Neuwirth, a cast of the usual socialites and a constellation of stylish fashionistas, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people who watched the show through a cyber-peek link on target.com.
   Launched in 1993, the Isaac Mizrahi for Target collection is a head-to-toe wardrobe of affordable women’s sportswear and accessories, with a majority of the pieces retailing from $17·99 to $24·99. The new Isaac Mizrahi New York collection consists of quality, made-to-order designs focusing on luxury and exquisite detailing. Available immediately, the line will be sold exclusively through Bergdorf Goodman (754 Fifth Avenue, New York City, NY 10019). The opening price for the collection begins at $5,000 and, believe me, it will be worth every penny you pay.
   With the models vamping down the runway in everything from body-hugging A-line dresses and gorgeous ’50s twin sets to débutante-style poofy ballgowns and kicky fun furs, the 48-piece collection was a mix of high–low fashion he himself introduced so many years ago when he staged sell-out shows at the Bryant Park tents. Accordingly, he is in agreement with John Remington, vice-president of event marketing and communications at Target, who said that ‘modern dressing is all about mixing both ends of the fashion spectrum to create a look that reflects a woman’s unique style.’ This show, he opines, ‘exemplifies the philosophy of both Target and Isaac Mizrahi, offering wardrobe solutions for everyday life.’
   The first look out of the gate sets the tone. He sent out a model wearing a denim redingote coat over an indigo lace petticoat—and he is such a skilled designer you don’t really see a price difference between the two pieces. All his coats were wearable works of art, from his forest and camel-field-painted coats to his coffee bean coloured "inside-out" sable coat and his big grizzly-fisher coat (and matching hat). He called to mind the ’40s and ’50s, sending out Liya in a grey heather cashmere cardigan paired with a grey flannel lace skirt and I couldn’t help thinking of Sandra Dee and the young Annette Funnicello when Raquel came out in a grey fair isle sweater (and white muscle T-shirt) paired with a grey flannel lace culottes pant.

CONTINUED Next page

Mr Mizrahi roared back with a collection that offered luxury for every woman in every financial bracket and brought back the keen sense of fun that has been sorely missing in fashion in recent years

 

Media partner: San Francisco Fashion Week
Media partner

 

Contents  Fashion features index  Autumn–winter 2004 index  
Subscribe to Lucire Updates: email updates@lucire.com, subject line subscribe
 

Next page
Lucire: fashion magazine homeLucire Fashion FeaturesLucire Living and Beauty Lucire Volante: travel, accommodation guide Lucire fashion news, bulletins and events Fashion shopping guide and directory
Lucire Community: interact with us, read letters to the editorLucire Updates' service: sign up Lucire Feedback