The Isaac Mizrahi Pictures: New York City 1989-93

Description

Waplington's informal verite portrait of American fashion designer Mizrahi's studio and runway shows of the late 1980s and early '90s From 1989 to 1993, New York fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi granted the British photographer Nick Waplington rare backstage access to photograph every detail of the designer's fitting sessions in the weeks before his twice-yearly fashion shows. Combining Waplington's gritty verite style with Mizrahi's haute couture sensibilities, the resulting images offer a candid glimpse into the world of fashion when supermodels including Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell reigned supreme. At the same time, Waplington set out to document the wildly creative nightlife of the '90s club kid culture in New York, juxtaposing his images of uptown style with downtown looks and taking pictures at some of the city's most infamous clubs, such as the Pyramid Club and Save the Robots. Artist and photographer Nick Waplington (born 1970) has published several monographs, including Living Room and The Wedding (Aperture), Safety in Numbers (Booth Clibborn), Truth or Consequences (Phaidon) and Alexander McQueen: Working Process (Damiani). He lives in London and New York. Isaac Mizrahi (born 1961) has been a leader in the fashion industry for almost 30 years. In 1995 he was the subject of the award-winning documentary, Unzipped. In 2003 Mizrahi pioneered the concept of merging high design with mass retail in partnership with Target. He has designed costumes for the New York Metropolitan Opera, the American Ballet Theater and the San Francisco Ballet. Mizrahi is the author of How to Have Style and has been head judge on Lifetime's Project Runway: All Stars.

A sparkling nugget of cultural history of NYC.--Mary-Louise Foss "NewYork.com" Bold and bright and exciting.--Jocelyn Silver "Milk Studios" Like Waplington's McQueen exhibition at the Tate Britain last year - the museum's first-ever solo show by a photographer - the book is studded with other subjects to keep it from being purely biographical... with Mizrahi, it's Waplington's diary of the '90s club scene.--Stephanie Eckardt "W Magazine Online" Selected for Vogue.com's Best Photo Books of Spring 2016--Suzanne Shaheen "Vogue.com" The photographer offers a visual smorgasbord that can be selectively viewed or interpreted. No question that the photographer has offered an amazingly keen eye when it comes to assembling the contents of this book... There is value in its viewing in that the millennial reader will only know Isaac [Mizrahi] from QVC and that this era of NYC clubbing no longer exists in any way. For the older reader, it might serve as a wonderful reminder of days gone by.--Jeffrey Felner "The New York Journal of Books" The photographer Nick Waplington's new book captures a lately much longed-for cultural moment in New York City's history, when supermodels ruled the runways and club kids held court at all hours.--Jamie Sims "The New York Times" This monograph offers a fascinating snapshot of an adventurous era known for its bubblegum-colored clothes, oversize platform shoes, and fizzy part scene.--Julien Sauvalle "Out Magazine" While Isaac's brand has gone through many incarnations, Waplington's images capture what was so inspiring about its first eruption onto the New York fashion scene: the head-spinning colors, fearlessness, and glamorous theatricality. They also show the energy and intimacy of Mizrahi's studio.--Alice Newell-Hanson "i-D" The Isaac Mizrahi Pictures: High fashion and hedonism in 80s New York. British photographer Nick Waplington spent four years in the late 80s documenting behind-the-scenes at Isaac Mizrahi's fashion house by day and New York's heady club scene by night. The result is a snapshot of a vibrant vanished moment in the city's cultural history.-- "CNN" Whereas most designer monographs are prone to elision and calculation Pictures... is as offhand as it is precise. Yes there is Christy, Linda, and Naomi arranged effortlessly during a fitting or backstage but on the next page club kids and drag queens grind and jeer. The effect is shocking fun.--Christopher Barnard "Paper"