Fashion Lives

This revealing volume provides unprecedented access to master designers and industry leaders. No topic is off-limits to Fern Mallis, award-winning creator of Fashion Week in New York, when she hosts Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis at New York’s prestigious 92nd Street Y, a series of in-depth interviews with the fashion industry’s most talented, successful, and legendary personalities. Featuring nineteen inspiring interviews with American fashion luminaries, this engaging book introduces readers to the real artists behind these very public figures. These no-holds-barred interviews, combined with never-before-seen personal photographs from interviewees such as Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Betsey Johnson, Polly Mellen, Bruce Weber, and more bring a fascinating, compelling perspective to their work. Profound, funny, and provocative, the discussions range from childhood inspirations to nitty-gritty industry details to advice on how to succeed in the fashion business today. Mallis’s Q&A format combines the intimate approach of a tête-à-tête with the dynamics of a live audience, sparking candid and inspiring conversations. With Mallis, fashion luminaries drop their public personas and provide a window into the inner workings and culture of the fashion industry.

Fern Mallis has been an industry game changer in the fashion and design world for more than thirty years. The creator and organizer of New York’s Fashion Week, Mallis was senior vice president at IMG Fashion and executive director of the CFDA, and recipient of numerous industry awards, including the 2012 Fashion Industry Lifetime Achievement Award from Pratt Institute, and the 2013 FIT President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Mallis is president of her own international consulting firm. Ralph Lauren began his career in 1967. Today, his collections include menswear, womenswear, accessories, fragrance, and home. He has received numerous awards for his work in fashion, philanthropy, and humanitarian causes, and is the only designer to receive the CFDA’s four highest honors.