Designer Mizrahi Is Closing His Business
In a high-profile demonstration that the roads to celebrity and financial success don’t always intersect, designer Isaac Mizrahi is shutting his business after his major backer--venerable fashion house Chanel--withdrew its support.
“Upon analyzing the future, both I and my partners agree that this is the best direction to take,” Mizrahi said in a statement late Thursday.
Mizrahi seemed to have all the elements required of fashion’s elite: a surplus of personal charm, splashy runway shows, the enthusiastic endorsement of the fashion press and the respect of prestigious stores. His colorful, classic clothes had passionate customers too, just not enough of them to offset years of continual financial loss.
In business for a decade, the 36-year-old New Yorker was one of the next generation of American star designers positioned to attain the status of Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren.
But unlike those familiar names, Mizrahi never developed licenses for perfume or jeans or other typically high-volume items that can offset the traditionally meager revenue of high-priced apparel that establishes a designer’s image. His less-expensive secondary collection, called Isaac, was inaugurated in 1996 but never gained a foothold and was shut down after three seasons.
It was well-known in the fashion community that although Mizrahi’s annual sales were $20 million to $30 million, his business was uneven and as much as 50% of the collection did not sell at full price.
Isaac Mizrahi & Co., the partnership between the designer and the American division of Chanel, which is the majority owner, owns the designer’s trademark. Details of the dissolution were still being worked out.
“Most unfortunately, Isaac wasn’t as successful as we had hoped he would have been with us and it was necessary for us to pass on his collection the past few seasons,” said John Martens, vice president and general manager of Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. “He is such a talent and I like him tremendously as a designer. I hope he comes back in some way. We’re selling a lot of his shoes right now.”
Ironically, Mizrahi’s fall collection has been selling particularly well. Barney’s New York flagship Madison Avenue store held a Mizrahi trunk show two weeks ago, and sold nearly $100,000 worth of clothes in a single day.
“We’re very sad about the news,” Barney’s spokesman Jason Weisenfeld said. “The Mizrahi business has been very strong in a number of our stores in the last few seasons.”
A fashion insider who insisted on anonymity said, “The bleeding was going on for so long that surgery wasn’t done in time. At this point, sales weren’t enough.”
If popularity and wit were dollars, Mizrahi would still be in business. Mizrahi’s irresistible personality was the entertaining core of “Unzipped,” a 1995 documentary that chronicled a fashion season from his point of view; he also has a small role in the upcoming Woody Allen film “Celebrity.” Mizrahi said that he now plans to concentrate on acting, screenwriting and producing films.
Lisa Eisner, a loyal Los Angeles customer and friend, said she enjoyed wearing his clothes because they weren’t readily identifiable.
“There wasn’t any big logo branding you when you wore Isaac. They were happy clothes, and he had the sense of humor that our generation responds to. There was always something great and goofy about what he did, so inventive and optimistic. It feels like the end of something that was so important in American fashion.”
