Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
From a very young age, Isaac Mizrahi knew he was different. Rather than try and conform, he stayed true to whom he was. He wasn't like the other boys at his Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva. He wasn't like the neighborhood boys who played sports outside. Instead, Isaac was creating Bob Fosse-esque puppet shows where he did everything himself--the puppets, the costumes, the lighting, the stage. His heroes were Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand and when he imagined his future self, it was with a man at his side, even if he didn't understand what the word "homosexual" meant. He tried out for the High School for Performing Arts at the suggestion of a sympathetic teacher and he found his people (including Harry Belafonte's daughter; he and his classmates were featured in the movie Fame). During high school he started his own clothing line and then went on to Parsons School of Design, where he was then handpicked to become Perry Ellis's intern.
Isaac's moving and literary memoir covers everything from surviving spinal meningitis at a young age, his difficult relationship with his father, his ever-supportive mother (who remains his biggest critic and fan), his experiences working with some of the greats in the fashion industry (Perri Ellis, Calvin Klein, Anna Wintour). We hear about dressing some of the biggest actresses and entertainers of our times, including Liza Minnelli and Audrey Hepburn. We see his friendship with Sandra Bernhard and his trailblazing collaboration with Target--he was the first designer to partner with a mass merchandiser--which cost him many friends in the fashion world, but gained him many more in the world off of Fifth Avenue. His revolutionary documentary, Unzipped, took viewers backstage at a fashion show. And he tells us what it was like to live through the AIDS epidemic as a gay man and how it ravaged his world.
Throughout the memoir, there are vintage Isaac observations on everything from his adored home of NYC to his lifelong struggles with insomnia and his weight to insight on his fashion genius. I.M. is pure Isaac Mizrahi--the Isaac Mizrahi everyone adores.
Synopsis
Isaac Mizrahi is sui generis. Designer. Cabaret singer. Talk show host. He's a pop culture icon unlike any fashion designer of recent memory, just as likely to be recognized walking down Main Street USA as Madison Avenue NYC. Yet ever since he shot to fame in the 1980s, the private Isaac Mizrahi has remained under wraps. Until now.
In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi offers a poignant, candid, and touching look back on his life so far. And what a life it's been. He tells the story of growing up gay in a sheltered Syrian Jewish Orthodox family, portraying a strained relationship with his father and a complicated one with his beloved mother. At the famed LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts, he found his people (and appeared in his first movie, Fame). As a budding fashion designer, Isaac worked with luminaries such as Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein. After branching out on his own, his label's instant success anointed him the wunderkind of the international fashion world. Isaac's unique talents drew him into fashion and celebrity circles that read like a who's who of the 20th and 21st centuries: Richard Avedon, Audrey Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, to name only a few. He looks back on his groundbreaking documentary, Unzipped, and after his first fall from grace, his partnership with Target that brought his high-end collection to the masses and revolutionized fashion retail.
In I.M., Isaac describes his numerous self-reinventions that landed him back to his first true calling of show business. He delves into his lifelong battles with his weight, insomnia, and depression. He tells what it was like to be an out gay man in a homophobic age and to witness the ravaging effects of the AIDS epidemic. In his elegant memoir, brimming with intimate details and inimitable wit, Isaac reveals not just the glamour of his years, but the grit beneath the glitz. Rich with memorable stories from in and out of the spotlight, I.M. illuminates deep emotional truths.
This is pure Isaac, as only he can tell it.
Synopsis
"Honest, insightful, and thoroughly entertaining...Mizrahi comes off in writing just like his onscreen persona: warm, witty, humble--and ready to dish." --Booklist, starred review
Isaac Mizrahi is sui generis: designer, cabaret performer, talk-show host, a TV celebrity. Yet ever since he shot to fame in the late 1980s, the private Isaac Mizrahi has remained under wraps. Until now.
In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi offers a poignant, candid, and touching look back on his life so far. Growing up gay in a sheltered Syrian Jewish Orthodox family, Isaac had unique talents that ultimately drew him into fashion and later into celebrity circles that read like a who's who of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: Richard Avedon, Audrey Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey, to name only a few.
In his elegant memoir, Isaac delves into his lifelong battles with weight, insomnia, and depression. He tells what it was like to be an out gay man in a homophobic age and to witness the ravaging effects of the AIDS epidemic. Brimming with intimate details and inimitable wit, Isaac's narrative reveals not just the glamour of his years, but the grit beneath the glitz. Rich with memorable stories from in and out of the spotlight, I.M. illuminates deep emotional truths.
Synopsis
"In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi puts his life to paper with the same mix of spirit and wryness as the designs he popularized." --Vanity Fair
Isaac Mizrahi is sui generis: designer, cabaret performer, talk-show host, a TV celebrity. Yet ever since he shot to fame in the late 1980s, the private Isaac Mizrahi has remained under wraps. Until now.
In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi offers a poignant, candid, and touching look back on his life so far. Growing up gay in a sheltered Syrian Jewish Orthodox family, Isaac had unique talents that ultimately drew him into fashion and later into celebrity circles that read like a who's who of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: Richard Avedon, Audrey Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey, to name only a few.
In his elegant memoir, Isaac delves into his lifelong battles with weight, insomnia, and depression. He tells what it was like to be an out gay man in a homophobic age and to witness the ravaging effects of the AIDS epidemic. Brimming with intimate details and inimitable wit, Isaac's narrative reveals not just the glamour of his years, but the grit beneath the glitz. Rich with memorable stories from in and out of the spotlight, I.M. illuminates deep emotional truths.
Synopsis
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi puts his life to paper with the same mix of spirit and wryness as the designs he popularized." --Vanity Fair
Isaac Mizrahi is sui generis: designer, cabaret performer, talk-show host, a TV celebrity. Yet ever since he shot to fame in the late 1980s, the private Isaac Mizrahi has remained under wraps. Until now.
In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi offers a poignant, candid, and touching look back on his life so far. Growing up gay in a sheltered Syrian Jewish Orthodox family, Isaac had unique talents that ultimately drew him into fashion and later into celebrity circles that read like a who's who of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: Richard Avedon, Audrey Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey, to name only a few.
In his elegant memoir, Isaac delves into his lifelong battles with weight, insomnia, and depression. He tells what it was like to be an out gay man in a homophobic age and to witness the ravaging effects of the AIDS epidemic. Brimming with intimate details and inimitable wit, Isaac's narrative reveals not just the glamour of his years, but the grit beneath the glitz. Rich with memorable stories from in and out of the spotlight, I.M. illuminates deep emotional truths.