Press Release
NEW YORK, February 2021 — Fern Mallis, the Fashion industry doyenne most recognized as the founder of New York Fashion Week, is embarking on the next chapter of her popular 92nd Street Y conversation series Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis: the launch of an always-on digital platform, Fashion Icons: The Archive (watch the playlist starting February 10, 2021), to share the intimate and behind the scenes stories of many of the fashion industry’s pioneers and most innovative thinkers.
No topic is off-limits in Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis, a series of candid and in-depth conversations regarded as the definitive “how to” guide for making it in fashion. From early wins, to pivoting to a second act, Mallis’ intimate tete-a-tete could only be made possible because of her own authentic and shared histories with these Fashion Icons from her decades behind the scenes at the Council for Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and IMG Fashion. The conversation series often draws a sold out crowd, with over 50 of the industry’s luminaries having participated since the program’s inception in 2011.
Click to watch Fashion Icons: The Archive
ABOUT FASHION ICONS: THE ARCHIVE
Fashion Icons: The Archive, premiers as a playlist on the 92nd Street Y YouTube channel on the February 10, 2021, ahead of New York Fashion Week. The 92nd Street Y YouTube channel is the digital-destination for the thought leaders behind culture, politics, the arts, entertainment, and fashion making it the perfect home for taking Mallis’ Fashion Icons series digital.
The Archive will become the digital hub for all things Fashion Icons, starting with a deep dive into the decade’s worth of never before released conversations:
- From the Archive (Updated Quarterly): Limited-time runs of Fashion Icon conversations in their entirety, with new introductions by Mallis recounting the behind the scenes stories of what the audience did not see from the 92Y stage that night.
- The Edit (Updated Monthly): Digital-shorts that feature a shared experience between Fashion Icons. Viewers may be surprised to see how and where many of the Fashion Icons have crossed paths and have shared journeys in building their successful careers.
In the first release of From the Archive, Mallis curated three Icons that are pushing the envelope in the industry by running their brands with a social or environmental sustainability driven purpose:
- Christian Siriano: “We’ve had customers of different sizes from day 1. Some of our best customers are size 14, 16 and always have been.”
Siriano has not shy-ed away from diversifying the models on his Fashion week runways or the muses he dresses on the red carpet, from Debra Messing and Kerry Washington, to Lizzo and Cardi B, to even Billy Porter. Mallis’ conversation with Siriano dives into why size inclusivity and diversity are important pillars to his brand, and why consumers are rewarding him for leading the effort to transform industry norms.
- Eileen Fisher: “We know we need to start finding better ways to make businesses responsible…get people to start saying, ‘I am not going to invest in companies that are polluting the air or the water, or buy clothes from companies that are not being responsible, that are just contributing to the mess.’”
Fisher has become one of the most recognizable Fashion Icons when it comes to sustainability by introducing a truly a circular, and profitable, business model: Eileen Fisher: RENEW. The RENEW model works by sourcing used goods from consumers and upcycling them in her on-shore manufacturing workshop, the Tiny Factory, in Irvington, New York. In Mallis’ conversation with Fisher, the sustainability pioneer opened up about how she overcame the struggles and challenges, both technology-driven and culture-driven, of achieving her dream of being a Fashion brand that does well, by doing good.
- Bethann Hardison: “Sometimes I shouldn’t say certain things, because you are educating people, but they are not ready.”
Hardison has played in every facet of the fashion business, from being an assistant to the hottest designers like Stephen Burrows, to conquering the runway as a model at the Battle of Versailles, to playing a key role championing diversity through the Black Girls Coalition, Diversity Coalition, and most recently the Designers Hub at CFDA. Mallis’ conversation recounts how Hardison’s journey to change the industry’s perceptions about diversity is no accident. Growing up in a unique community in Brooklyn gave Hardison the character to champion one of the toughest and on-going struggles in the industry.
“I have so much respect for the designers and the professionals in the fashion industry who demonstrate real substance and are committed to the right causes. It’s not an easy transformation to take on. They have a unique platform to get a message out and often it’s more important than the “look of the season,’” said Mallis on how she curated the first three Fashion Icons to feature in From the Archives.
“Today, social and environmental sustainability is no longer a buzz word for Gen Z’s. They take their responsibility to this planet and for their purchases seriously,” said Mallis. The full interviews from The Archive will be available to stream online until the end of March 2021, before they go back into the vault. New Icons will be released for a limited-time only, quarterly.
In the first release of The Edit, Mallis pays homage to lifestyle Fashion pioneer and friend Ralph Lauren. Though Lauren has not yet graced the Fashion Icons stage, he wrote the forward to Mallis’ first book, Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis, chronicling the first 19 conversations in the Fashion Icons series. In the book, Lauren summarized Mallis’ contributions to the Fashion industry as the following, “Fern’s fervor for elevating American fashion to its rightful place in art and culture has always been at the heart of her mission. Her amazing energy and passion and respect for the art of fashion and those who craft and celebrate it have been her life’s work.”
“We’ve started this volume of The Edit with a group of designers who all admire, respect, and adore Ralph Lauren as much as I do. He is the ultimate, and elusive, Fashion Icon, “ said Mallis. The Edit: Working With Ralph, focuses on how Lauren discovered and mentored many of the Fashion Icons who have taken to the stage, including stories by Vera Wang, Thom Browne, and John Varvatos. The series concludes with a funny anecdote by childhood neighbor Calvin Klein, that resulted in probably the most laughs ever heard on the Kauffman auditorium stage.
“The fashion industry is filled with people in every aspect of the business who have all worked at some point at Ralph Lauren. Hence, many of them call the experience Polo University,” said Mallis. “I always love hearing the stories of what they learned from Ralph – or in Calvin’s case – what he didn’t.”
This platform will evolve to include exclusive new content and will integrate with other Fashion Icon projects in development by Mallis.
Christian Siriano/ Photo Credit: Michael Priest 
Bethann Hardison/ Photo Credit: Michael Priest 
Eileen Fisher/ Photo Credit: Michael Priest 
Eileen Fisher/ Photo Credit: Michael Priest 
Bethann Hardison/ Photo Credit: Michael Priest
GOING DIGITAL: INNOVATING IN A PANDEMIC
The Fashion Icons conversations, ranging back to 2011, have remained in the 92nd Street Y digital vault until now. Mallis and the 92nd Street Y leadership had long discussed the right channel and the right timing for releasing the series digitally. That right moment came when COVID-19’s impacts began to be felt in the Fashion industry, on the 92nd Street Y and its live programming, and the country as a whole.
“During COVID-19, we’ve seen an insatiable appetite for digital content. I have not gone a week without someone asking me if there was any place they could watch replays of the Fashion Icon conversations – it just seemed like the right time,” said Mallis. Mallis hopes that taking the series digital can help her long-time partners at the 92nd Street Y to grow their digital presence and weather the storm of the pandemic, while satiating this audience’s desire for new content.
While reviewing the Fashion Icons archives, Mallis and the 92nd Street Y editors realized a greater message in the stories that needed to be shared. These conversations were stories about hope and perseverance. “The Fashion Icons talk openly about the hardships they had creating their businesses, and the many times they went bankrupt or weathered tough economic conditions, and in some cases even when they were forced to close down. And still, these Fashion Icons each persevered and found the right support and the right innovative concept to have a second or even third act,” said Mallis.
“These stories are not unlike what we’re hearing from many in the fashion business during this pandemic. No Fashion Icon’s career was without its own detours. Sharing each Fashion Icons’ stories of their hopes and their triumphs over failure is now more relevant today, than ever,” said Mallis.
Sifting through the archival footage and making them easy to watch, would not have been possible without the hard work of the 92nd Street Y team. “This has been a labor of love for the teams involved. These interview have been carefully curated thanks to the 92nd Street Y team. We’re featuring the most interesting moments and the most relevant stories of each Fashion Icon’s life and careers,” said Mallis.
“I think we’ve created something bingeable for both the most industry-entrenched Fashionista and the casual viewer, that leaves you wanting more,” said Mallis.
WHAT’S NEXT IN FASHION ICONS
The launch of The Archive is only part of Mallis’ greater strategy to share the highly sought after Fashion Icons conversations. Mallis is in early development for the sequel to her book Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis by Rizzoli. The first volume of the series, published in 2015, has had four printings, including one in Japanese. Volume 1 features the first 19 Fashion Icons conversations, including the last major interviews with Oscar de la Renta before his passing, a rare interview with the press-shy Bill Cunningham, current CFDA Board Chair Tom Ford, and many more. Volume 2 will integrate with the digital experience of The Archive via QR codes.
“I can’t wait to be back on the stage of the 92Y sitting six feet away from my next Fashion Icon, just as soon as our lives get back to normal…whatever that means these days,” said Mallis. “There are so many designers and fashion personalities that have stories to share, especially about what they did to get through this crazy past year.”
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About 92nd Street Y
The 92nd Street Y (92Y) is a world-class center for the arts and innovation, a convener of ideas, and an incubator for creativity. 92Y offers extensive classes, courses and events online including live concerts, talks and master classes; fitness classes for all ages; 250+ art classes, and parenting workshops for new moms and dads. The 92nd Street Y is transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action all over the world. All of 92Y’s programming is built on a foundation of Jewish values, including the capacity of civil dialogue to change minds; the potential of education and the arts to change lives; and a commitment to welcoming and serving people of all ages, races, religions, and ethnicities. For more information, visit www.92Y.org.
About Fern Mallis
Hailed as the award-winning creator of New York Fashion Week, Fern Mallis has been called an industry titan, fashion doyenne, and the godmother of fashion. She is an accomplished interviewer, inspirational public speaker, sought-after consultant, and widely quoted in the fashion press and broadcast media. She is most known for
Click to watch Fashion Icons: The Archive
John Varvatos/ Photo Credit: Joyce Culver 
Thom Brown/ Photo Credit: Michael Priest 
Thom Brown/ Photo Credit: Michael Priest 
Vera Wang/ Photo Credit: Joyce Culver 
Calvin Klein/ Photo Credit: Joyce Culver
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