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STYLE
YOU HAVE TO KNOW FERN!
Fern Mallis has much to say in her new tome, Fashion Icons 2: Fashion Lives with Fern Mallis, including advice for the next gen of fashion enthusiasts.
EMILY’S
TEEN PICKS
Your guide to what’s trending
for the next gen of Hamptonites...
GLOWY GODDESS
Treat yourself the way you deserve to be treated: like a goddess. With the Bronze Goddess All-Over Face and Body Gloss from Estée Lauder, you can do just that. This luxurious body gloss will catch the light and make you glow like a ray of sun. It is perfect to apply all over prior to a beach day or only on your décolletage for a night out. It is that last finishing touch you need for any outing. $32, esteelauder.com
BY EMILY JEDELL
This fall, I enter my senior year of high school. When you’re younger, people always ask you what you want to be when you “grow up”—while the question seems fanciful as a young kid, it seems more pressing now. People have always told me, “Do what you love”; I’ve always loved fashion, so I looked into it. One name kept popping up—Fern Mallis. “You have to know Fern!” people would tell me. “She’s the godmother
of fashion!” Even Ralph Lauren (the man, not the brand) said, “Though her name is not on a label, Fern Mallis has made her own mark on the world of American fashion.” I was intrigued.
Like many other powerful New York City women, Fern Mallis was born in Brooklyn. The summer she graduated from college she applied for the “Guest Editor” program at Mademoi-
selle magazine—a program that featured a who’s who of alum- nae, including Betsey Johnson, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion.
It was the summer of ’69—Fern worked tirelessly at the magazine and competed with others in the program for a full-time position. She was the only one to get the job and ended up working at the magazine for the next six years. And so began her almost fairy- tale-like life in fashion.
By the 1980s, she had not only
conquered the magazine world
but also the spheres of fashion
and design. It was also a time
when the AIDS epidemic was
rampant but no one was talking
about it. Determined to make a
difference, Fern, then a design publicist, joined the board of Design Industries Foundation Fight- ing AIDS (DIFFA). In doing that, she discovered yet another talent—fundraising for causes.
In 1991 she applied for the position of executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)—a nonprofit organization formed to strengthen the impact of American fashion on
the global economy. She believed that she was best qualified for the job because not only did she wear clothes and love being around people in the fashion industry but she also had what she called “garmento DNA.” After an exhaustive search, the CFDA selected her for the position. Together with Stan Herman,
the then-president of the CFDA, Fern created a centralized fashion week in New York called 7th
on Sixth in Bryant Park—which is known today as New York Fashion Week. And the rest, as they say, is fashion HERstory.
In May 2022, she released Fashion Icons 2: Fash- ion Lives with Fern Mallis (Rizzoli)—a tome that Vogue’s senior archives editor, Laird Borrelli-Persson, called “required reading for anyone contemplating
a career in fashion.” Her best-selling first volume,
Fashion Icons 1: Fashion Lives with Fern Mallis
(Rizzoli), was also re-released as an updated edition with new content as well as artwork. These two treasure-trove volumes, which contain anything and everything you wanted to learn about fashion, were released in a two-book set created exclusively for Nordstrom.
The books chronicle the series of talks that Fern hosts at the famed 92nd Street Y, aptly titled “Fash- ion Icons with Fern Mallis.” Featuring a different high-profile designer, photographer, model, editor, or other fashion industry talent each time, her intimate and often provocative interviews give her audiences a unique firsthand account of the lives of real-life fashion icons. The series is now one of the longest
BEACH BABE
ongoing programs at
the 92nd Street Y.
Each of Fern’s talks ends
with a simple question for that week’s guest: What advice do you have for the next gener- ation of fashion icons in the room?
Fern has graciously shared
a few of her favorite responses with our readers, all of which are featured in the recently released Fashion Icons 2. Victoria Beckham
I think it’s always great to work for somebody else. I learned so much when I was working with other brands. You can learn more about the industry when somebody else is paying the bills because it’s very expen- sive when you start doing it yourself.
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JELLY HEELS
Channel your inner Polly Pocket with Jeffrey Campbell’s Bubble- gum sandals. Striking the perfect balance between aqua and teal, these turquoise jelly heels are going to be the statement platforms of the summer. Pair them with your favorite jeans for a casual look or a white minidress for a more dressed-up approach.
$45, jeffreycampbellshoes.com
LUCKY LIPS
Make your lips pop this summer with MAC’s Powder Kiss Lipstick in the shade If Wishes Were Roses. This bright pink color
is sure to enhance any day or nighttime look for the most beautiful appearance. Not only is it vibrant, but it will leave your lips hydrated throughout all that comes your way this season. $24, mac.com
Stan Herman (a Southampton resi- dent)
The one thing I keep telling every- one is that you must have an alter
ego. You must have somebody who takes the business aspect off of what
you do. The demands to meet a
profit margin are so extraordinary. It’s taken the guts out of the creativity.
Christian Siriano
Try to really find out what you love, meaning if you are all about evening wear and that’s what you love to do, make sure it’s the best it can be. I think it’s important for any young designer to be very focused on what is their full passion.
Of course, no authority on fashion would be complete without Fern’s own words of advice on how to make it in the industry: “You’ve got to find your voice and your passion, be focused, be creative, do
it differently, and just stay with it. ‘No’ doesn’t mean ‘no’ all the time.”
Pick up your copy of Fashion Icons 2: Fashion Lives with Fern Mallis at your local bookstore or on- line at rizzoli.com or nordstrom.com for the exclusive Fashion Icons Nordstrom two-volume set.
RIDE IN STYLE
HAMPTON SHEET MIDSUMMER 2022
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Photo Fern Mallis: Sophie Elgort/Book cover: Courtesy of Rizzoli