Isaac Mizrahi has worked extensively in the entertainment industry as an actor, host, writer, designer and producer for over 30 years. He is the subject and co-creator of Unzipped, a documentary following the making of his Fall 1994 collection which received an award at the Sundance Film Festival. He hosted his own television talk show The Isaac Mizrahi Show for seven years, has written two books, and has made countless appearances in movies and on television. He currently serves as a judge on Project Runway: All-Stars.
He is Chief Designer for the Isaac Mizrahi brands, a division of Xcel Brands, Inc. In 2009, Mizrahi launched his lifestyle collection, “ISAACMIZRAHILIVE!” on QVC. His IMNYC collection is currently sold at Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay Company.
Mizrahi has directed productions of A Little Night Music and The Magic Flute for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Annually, he directs and narrates his production of the children’s classic Peter and The Wolf at The Guggenheim Museum in New York. He has performed cabaret at Café Carlyle, Joe’s Pub, West Bank Café and City Winery locations across the country.
Mizrahi has his own production company, Isaac Mizrahi Entertainment, under which he has several projects in development in television, theatre, and literature. He is at work on a memoir due out in 2019. Follow Isaac on Twitter and Instagram.
Photo credit: © Jason Frank Rothenberg
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 I.M.A Memoir
Flatiron Books
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. |
Arts, Culture, and Entertainment With decades of experience in industries ranging from television to theatre to fashion to literature, Isaac Mizrahi shares insider information and reflections on the world of show business.
LGBT Issues Isaac Mizrahi reflects on his own experiences in the LGBTQ community and its expressions in the industries in which he's worked. He discusses growing up gay in a traditional Jewish family, an age rampant with homophobia, and witnessing the ravaging effects of the AIDS epidemic.
Finding Your Niche Isaac Mizrahi has been acquiring new niches since his breakout in the 1980s. From his first love--acting and showbiz--to becoming an international fashion sensation and design wunderkind, from filming documentaries to hosting talk shows to directing live productions, Mizrahi is a master of entering and dominating new fields.
Growing Up Jewish Isaac Mizrahi discusses the hardships of growing up a gay man in a traditional, sheltered, Syrian Jewish Orthodox family. He reflects on the circumstances of his childhood and coming-of-age and the complex relationships of his immediate family.
Omnivoracious: The Amazon Book Review blog posted a clip of Isaac’s hilarious Fishbowl conversation with Seira Wilson while he was in Seattle this spring.
The New York Times spotlights Isaac Mizrahi’s I.M.: A Memoir online in “11 Books We Recommend This Week.”
The New York Journal of Books reviewed Isaac Mizrahi’s I.M.: A Memoir.
I.M. is the Editor’s Choice pick for The New York Times. Read the full book review here.
Listen to Pamela Paul as she discusses I.M. in The New York Times Book Review podcast.
The Charleston Post and Courier reviewed I.M.
Read Vogue’s review of Isaac Mizrahi’s memoir I.M.
I.M. The New York Times was chosen as pick for this week.
Newsday features Mizrahi’s memoir I.M. in its “What to Read this Week” article.
Parade talks with Isaac Mizrahi about the importance of originality.
Listen to WNYC’s podcast with Isaac Mizrahi discussing his memoir I.M.
The Washington Post raves about Mizrahi’s memoir I.M. Read the review.
The New York Times runs Isaac’s “By the Book” interview in the NYT Book Review.
NPR Weekend Edition airs its interview of Isaac with Scott Simon.
O Magazine includes I.M. in its Best Books for February.
Isaac Mizrahi and Christian Siriano talk modern design trends for OZY.
In Daily Front Row, Mizrahi talks about his new show, his favorite haunts, and his upcoming book.
Read the Guest of a Guest interview with Mizrahi.
Women’s Wear Daily posted a feature on Mizrahi and I.M.
The New York Times runs an article with a video home tour of Mizrahi’s extravagant flat in Manhattan.
Read the Town & Country article about his Peter and the Wolf production.
Hemispheres features Isaac Mizrahi in an admirable profile piece.
Read the New York Times review of Mizrahi’s Jewish Museum exhibit.
Read the New York Times interview with Mizrahi about his cabaret act.
The Los Angeles Blade included Isaac Mizrahi’s I.M. in its spring roundup.
Read the Vogue review of Isaac Mizrahi’s cabaret act.
Read the Parade interview with Isaac Mizrahi on mentors, Project Runway, and his cabaret show.
Read Isaac Mizrahi’s article in the New York Post about his favorite Manhattan spots.
Book Marks posts various reviews of I.M. by Isaac Mizrahi.
Visit Isaac Mizrahi’s personal website.
Follow Isaac on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
-The New York Times Book Review
“I.M. is a surprisingly literary work; he sharply describes his world… a playful read, yet there is a weight to it, a few heavy paillettes to keep the structure in place.”
-BookForum
“Heart-rending… [an] honest rendering of how the underdog Mizrahi, whose self-image and livelihood are alternately crushed and affirmed, moves through the many creative phases of his life.”
-The Washington Post
“The key to the warmth and overall success of the memoir is Mizrahi’s unapologetic, bare-all approach as he shares the best and worst aspects of his life… a charming and witty memoir.”
-Kirkus
“Mizrahi reveals the many layers of his exceptional life in this witty intelligent memoir.”
-Publishers Weekly
"Mizrahi chronicles the stages of his life—as an ungainly youngster growing up in his uberconservative Syrian Jewish community, a closeted student at New York's High School for the Performing Arts, a gifted newcomer maneuvering through the layers of the fashion industry, a jet-setting superstar, and then, abruptly, yesterday's news—through his current career as a performer and producer. He shares his never-ending anxieties, indecision, and bouts of depression in introspective passages, as well as the ups and downs of his personal life, including the on- again, off-again courtship of his now husband, Arnold. This is likely to get a lot of celebrity buzz; expect enthusiastic demand."
-Kathleen McBroom, Booklist
"...Admirable read for fashionistas and lovers of memoirs alike.”
-New York Journal of Books
“Isaac Mizrahi is a true Renaissance man. He can do it all! He’s managed to live several lives in one lifetime.”
-RuPual
“I.M. has everything! It’s colorful, hysterical, touching, bold, and heartbreaking. It’s about coming of age, creativity, being yourself, Jewish mothers, fashion, art, loss, and glamour. I loved it.”
-Andy Cohen, New York Times bestselling author of Superficial
“The key to the warmth and overall success of the memoir is Mizrahi’s unapologetic, bare-all approach as he shares the best and worst aspects of his life… a charming and witty memoir.”
-Kirkus
“Mizrahi reveals the many layers of his exceptional life in this witty intelligent memoir.”
-Publishers Weekly
“Intimate and generous and 100% Isaac. What makes this book so incredibly deliciously good is Isaac's specificity...not just as material (pun intended) but beyond the fabric of clothing and into the fabric of life, the experiences, the nuances, the brilliance and oddity of the times we're in.”
—A. M. Homes, New York Times bestselling author
“In this bracingly honest, courageously vulnerable, and often hilarious memoir, Isaac Mizrahi traces a life full of yearning, telling his story as generously as he’s lived it. This is the narrative of how a fat and conflicted yeshiva boy became a great and glamourous designer, and it is both gossipy and insightful, both elegant and profound, a portrait of Mizrahi’s enduring anxiety and prodigious brilliance.”
—Andrew Solomon, New York Times bestselling author of The Noonday Demon and Far from the Tree