I never noticed it before, but he’s lurking in the background of this ad for Liz Claiborne from Lucky Magazine‘s October 2009 issue.
I used to like the dude a little when he had his talk show “Isaac” back in ’05. He seemed warm, engaging, a little flighty, but overall, an entertaining host. Then the debacle that was The Fashion Show aired on Bravo and my opinion of him dropped to rock bottom. It was excruciating watching that show after being primed for a fashion reality show like Project Runway…Mizrahi appeared self-absorbed and extremely unconcerned in motivating the designers to produce their best work (unlike Tim Gunn and the judges panel on Project Runway- who, although their critique can be harsh and they do have judges’ favorites from season to season – I find their critique to be spot-on and invested in causing the designers to grow, mature, and produce great work. In most cases.) Mizrahi, however, seemed uncaring and his workroom critiques (which were edited to be unbelieveably short) consisted of “Oooh! I like that” or just a furrowed brow and folded arms. Many people’s criticism of Mizrahi is that he is less a talented designer than simply a lucky one – and being appointed as Creative Director for Liz Claiborne (after a stint designing for Target) last year has had many tongues a-wagging as to whether he was indeed the best choice to revamp the line.
To many young women now the Liz Claiborne brand is still seen as “my mom’s clothing;” sort of dowdy, bland separates that many were unsurprised to see falter back in the late 80’s. A few places have praised Isaac Mizrahi’s infusion of “whimsy” and “wit” into the label, and even Michelle Obama has worn a piece from the line (above). It’s interesting to see an array of ages and body types in their ads (though in a screaming “look at this! We’re showing a range of women!” sort of way) – but who is their target demographic? The current lineup of styles has been panned as being “frumpy” and “all over the place.” [It’s also interesting that Tim Gunn, Liz Claiborne’s Chief Creative Officer, was the one who poached Mizrahi from his gig at Target in the first place. ]
Mizrahi has also been labeled by many as a “fame whore” – an image not exactly helped by his behavior whilst the cameras were running on “The Fashion Show,” and his hawking of cheesecakes on QVC last summer.
How about you? What’s your take on Miss Miz? (Did you buy a cheesecake from him?) How about Liz Claiborne and the line? Have you ever bought anything from then – and do you think his image helps or hurts theirs? Chic or cheap, readers?
-Carly J. Cais
Liz Claiborne can be bought at LizClaiborne New York stores across the country- click here for a list of locations. See full Fall 2009 lookbook here.
(images from Liz Claiborne Fall 2009 Lookbook from Coutorture.com)
Carly,
I just saw the award that you gave me and I am so excited!!! What an honor!
Something just struck me about that ad. It looks like the aisle that has all the Halloween costumes and candy just blew up all over these poor women! The colors and patterns just scream Halloween!” Who would want to dress like that?
I'm not a big fan of his, and it has been years since I bought any Liz Claibore (see how I spelled it?) 😉
I don't see my buying habits changing any time soon!
Hey, I'm going to start following you. But not in that creepy Isaac Mizrahi stalkerish way!
I'm not really sure what I think about cheap or chic, just because I'm not terribly familiar with Liz Claiborne (other than it being, um, as was mentioned, mom-ish) lol
I had no idea he was selling cheesecakes! On QVC of all places? Yeah, I guess that does kind of cheapen things. I mean, I could NOT see Karl Lagerfield or Donatella on QVC for anything! lol
The ads are funny to me, because he's been creepily stalking in them for a while now, not just this one! eee!
Definetly looks like the Halloween isle- I actually thought it was til I studied the picture longer haha!
Coco Rocha's in it? That makes me sad for her! 🙁 LOL
He is such a creepy McCreeperton! Seriously! Who thought this was a good idea? Ug!
Any who, here's where his stalking begins:
http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl2/0/3987/14_2009/dcdf195ce4b2eedd_69265_georgina_stojiljkovic-liz-c01_122_909lo.xlarger.jpg
I never liked any of his Target stuff. They managed to make it look good in the pictures on bone-skinny models, but the pieces never looked good on any of the women in my family (and we have a great range of body types). The ad makes me want to scream…the colors and patterns chosen just say “cheesy Halloween.” The line looks frumpy…I'm all for bringing back the high-waisted pants (I've been pining after a certain burdastyle pattern for over a year now), but these look like they were jerked right out of the worst styles of the 80s. They're not even flattering on the models; what do they expect them to look like on the average woman?
I don't have anything personally against Liz Claiborne; I have yet to try anything on from that line that looks good on me (unlike Calvin Klein, where everything I try on fits perfectly somehow), but it's always been one of those classic, classy old-world designers. I really see this as cheapening the brand.