I.M.
A Memoir
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4.3 • 69 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi puts his life to paper with the same mix of spirit and wryness as the designs he popularized.” —Vanity Fair
Isaac Mizrahi is sui generis: designer, cabaret performer, talk-show host, a TV celebrity. Yet ever since he shot to fame in the late 1980s, the private Isaac Mizrahi has remained under wraps. Until now.
In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi offers a poignant, candid, and touching look back on his life so far. Growing up gay in a sheltered Syrian Jewish Orthodox family, Isaac had unique talents that ultimately drew him into fashion and later into celebrity circles that read like a who’s who of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: Richard Avedon, Audrey Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey, to name only a few.
In his elegant memoir, Isaac delves into his lifelong battles with weight, insomnia, and depression. He tells what it was like to be an out gay man in a homophobic age and to witness the ravaging effects of the AIDS epidemic. Brimming with intimate details and inimitable wit, Isaac's narrative reveals not just the glamour of his years, but the grit beneath the glitz. Rich with memorable stories from in and out of the spotlight, I.M. illuminates deep emotional truths.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fashion designer Mizrahi reveals the many layers of his exceptional life in this witty, intelligent memoir. Mizrahi grew up in Brooklyn in a Syrian Jewish Orthodox family, and at an early age began designing Barbie doll wardrobes; at age 11, he opened his own atelier in his parents' basement. While attending LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts, Mizrahi began selling pieces of his first fashion collection to such tony boutiques as Manhattan's Charivari. After graduating from Parsons School of Design, Mizrahi worked with noted designers Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein, and rubbed elbows with fashion luminaries including Audrey Hepburn and Vogue's Anna Wintour. In luminous prose, Mizrahi chronicles not only the glamour Liza Minnelli's wedding (she had four dress changes that "I hoped no one mistook any of them for mine") and nights at Studio 54 but also the low points of his life, such as his father's death and his own depression ("no matter how wonderful things are going, a lot of dark thinking manages to take hold"). Loving descriptions of vintage fabric charm, as do earnest moments, such as meeting his future husband, Arnold, in 2001 ("Aside from the great physical attraction, we were very honest with each other at all times"). This is a must-read for fashion fanatics.
Customer Reviews
Love It
Could not put it down. I’m so happy he found love and happiness. He’s an inspiration. Great read.
Excellent Read!
I have no sense of fashion, no idea of what to wear (nor do I always care) and had never heard of Isaac Mizrahi before reading this book. It was a book club assignment and I try to participate every month.
So I was not exactly enthusiastic about this book.
But, wow! I was pulled in from the start. Stories of not fitting in, feeling outside of your family - all resonated with me. Isaac’s persistence in fashion and later in entertainment was just inspiring. His writing style is entertaining and I flew through the book. I also loved the insights into the fashion industry, the stories of Liza Minelli and the peak into the 70s club scene.
I went from not knowing who Isaac Mizrahi is to following him on Twitter and hoping that someday he performs on the West Coast so I can see him live!
I highly recommend this book.
IM
Issac Mitzrahi is a dreamboat.
I wish he was my friend. But I’m so glad he exists. He is everything.
This book is beautifully beautifully written and he
is a beautiful man .
I once crossed paths ...my family is friends with SG - Susie’s husband.
I remember seeing IM at her wedding as an insecure girl I never dared to even look at him.
Funny, life.
IM has always seemed to me to be a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, even when he’s hiding in plain sight.
Read this everyone .
Hey Issac, please .....more.
Xoxo