Isaac Mizrahi

Hair askew and hands aflutter, designer Isaac Mizrahi is nervously standing in a kitchen, ready to tackle his next creative mission. Squealing and whining, he whisks and grates and stirs and tastes before donning a pair of hefty oven mitts to present a deep dish of baked macaroni and cheese. Not exactly the masterpiece the fashion world probably expects of its former wonder boy. But, considering the unexpected turns Mizrahi's life has taken in the last three years, perhaps it should be.

ISAAC MIZRAHI is one of the easiest interviews in the fashion business. If ever you're struck mute, he can carry on a conversation with himself. He's fun like that, bouncing from his love of NPR ("Diane Rehm is a god-dess") to his love of Cobb salads during a chat last week in L.A., the latest stop on his book tour for "How to Have Style" (Gotham). That title may sound presumptuous, but Mizrahi has earned it; his influence on style over the last decade is unparalleled.

COVER up, ladies. He's coming back for the Oscars. Isaac Mizrahi -- the Golden Globes' red-carpet terror, the man who peered down Teri Hatcher's dress, inquired about Eva Longoria's bikini wax and, for his big finish, groped Scarlett Johansson's breast -- will be prowling the hallowed ground in front of the Kodak Theatre on Sunday, microphone in hand for the Style Network. Oh, God, help us all.

Apparel and accessories maker Liz Claiborne Inc. has hired Isaac Mizrahi as its creative director for its namesake brand in a bid to rejuvenate its foundering and aging label. By signing on with Liz Claiborne, the award-winning designer is also ending his contract with Target Corp. He had created the powerful Isaac Mizrahi for Target collection, which has been a magnet in driving customer traffic to its stores and helped solidify Target's niche in cheap chic designs since its inception five years ago. Mizrahi's first women's collection for Claiborne, to arrive in stores for spring 2009, will appeal to the same customer but will be updated with bold colors and have a better fit, attributes for which the label had once been known, Claiborne officials said.

"I ask myself when I design every collection, 'What will change style forever?' That's the task I've set: Expressing myself and influencing the world." You have to be young to get away with a comment like that. Or you have to be Isaac Mizrahi, who is not only young but audacious and apparently on the verge of something big. Some people know him as the whiz kid who turned a tooled Western saddle into a leather bustier.

ISAAC MIZRAHI is one of the easiest interviews in the fashion business. If ever you're struck mute, he can carry on a conversation with himself. He's fun like that, bouncing from his love of NPR ("Diane Rehm is a god-dess") to his love of Cobb salads during a chat last week in L.A., the latest stop on his book tour for "How to Have Style" (Gotham). That title may sound presumptuous, but Mizrahi has earned it; his influence on style over the last decade is unparalleled.

This September, fashion plates across America are donning dressy white pumps, quashing the long-held fashion rule that it's considered the height of tackiness to wear white shoes after Labor Day. One Valley Vogue spy in the Big Apple reports that the Harper's Bazaar editors are running around in white pumps, while their counterparts at Vogue have taken to Barbie doll-style white mules. "White is certainly one of the hottest trends around for fall," says Eileen Walker, a shoe buyer who reports that it is one of the top four biggest sellers at I. Magnin stores, including the Promenade Mall location.

Apparel and accessories maker Liz Claiborne Inc. has hired Isaac Mizrahi as its creative director for its namesake brand in a bid to rejuvenate its foundering and aging label. By signing on with Liz Claiborne, the award-winning designer is also ending his contract with Target Corp. He had created the powerful Isaac Mizrahi for Target collection, which has been a magnet in driving customer traffic to its stores and helped solidify Target's niche in cheap chic designs since its inception five years ago. Mizrahi's first women's collection for Claiborne, to arrive in stores for spring 2009, will appeal to the same customer but will be updated with bold colors and have a better fit, attributes for which the label had once been known, Claiborne officials said.

Linda, Naomi, Claudia: You'd better work it, girls, because Sandee the Supermodel from Bountiful, Utah, is about to get all the bookings--in bookstores, that is. From the inventive minds of designer Isaac Mizrahi and illustrator William Frawley, a designer and teacher at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, comes a towering platinum blond with aquamarine eyes.

THE one person on the planet who hasn't weighed in on Isaac Mizrahi's Golden grope is the victim herself: Scarlett Johansson. Was the move a harmless but weird ratings ploy, or just offensively bad manners? "It was definitely in poor taste," said Johansson, speaking about her reaction publicly for the first time. "I'd been prepping for two hours with hair and makeup and getting dressed. And the first interview I do, someone who I have never met before fondles me for his own satisfaction."

COVER up, ladies. He's coming back for the Oscars. Isaac Mizrahi -- the Golden Globes' red-carpet terror, the man who peered down Teri Hatcher's dress, inquired about Eva Longoria's bikini wax and, for his big finish, groped Scarlett Johansson's breast -- will be prowling the hallowed ground in front of the Kodak Theatre on Sunday, microphone in hand for the Style Network. Oh, God, help us all.

Hair askew and hands aflutter, designer Isaac Mizrahi is nervously standing in a kitchen, ready to tackle his next creative mission. Squealing and whining, he whisks and grates and stirs and tastes before donning a pair of hefty oven mitts to present a deep dish of baked macaroni and cheese. Not exactly the masterpiece the fashion world probably expects of its former wonder boy. But, considering the unexpected turns Mizrahi's life has taken in the last three years, perhaps it should be.

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.

Linda, Naomi, Claudia: You'd better work it, girls, because Sandee the Supermodel from Bountiful, Utah, is about to get all the bookings--in bookstores, that is. From the inventive minds of designer Isaac Mizrahi and illustrator William Frawley, a designer and teacher at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, comes a towering platinum blond with aquamarine eyes.

"I put my heart and soul into accessories," says Isaac Mizrahi, who is introducing his first collection of jewelry, belts and bags for spring, 1992, after designing ready-to-wear for five years. "They're the most fun part of my collection to do and, I imagine, for a woman to buy." What's fun in this first line are Western-inspired necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pendants, pins and belt buckles in rhinestones or etched gold, shaped like American eagles, steer heads and horseshoes.

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.

Living for beauty is a living hell sometimes. Just ask New York designer Isaac Mizrahi, who navigates a season in Hades so deftly in Douglas Keeve's funny, staccato-paced documentary "Unzipped." The film is scheduled to open Aug. 11 in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Royal Theater, but Barneys New York, Miramax and Hachette Filipacchi will host a benefit premiere tonight in Beverly Hills.