Isaac Mizrahi is the king of collaborations. He has skillfully designed dolls, tweezers, Kleenex tissues and more. Last year, Mizrahi coined a collection of Band-Aids bandages featuring iconic Isaac Mizrahi prints from his past womenswear collections: gingham, roses, hearts, camouflage, stripes and the Isaac Mizrahi scramble, of course.
With over 25 years of experience in fashion Mizrahi has learned many lessons along the way. Even though he is an extremely busy man, he made time to give me a few gems to share with you.
5 Secrets to Isaac Mizrahi’s Success (in his own words)
1. Don’t rely on results
My secret is not relying on results. To not look at the end product so much but look at the idea and try to fulfill that.
2. Just do it
It takes so much energy to think about “not doing something” that you might as well just do it and get the benefit of actually going through with it and doing it.
3. Deal with failure
If it [something] fails, I can’t necessarily take the responsibility of failure but I can take the responsibility of learning a lesson.
4. Don’t be scared
Artists are responsible for the end product but if you are too scared of what the consequences are, you’ll never do anything. It takes less energy to work on something and accept your shortcomings if it fails.
“I think that‘s an important lesson for artists to learn: failure is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be a really good thing.” – Isaac Mizrahi
5. Do your own thing
I never followed in footsteps, I don’t really believe in that… Be inspired and then move on. If I can inspire people I’m really happy. But I would never want to feel like I was being emulated because everyone’s journey is different, everyone has a different chain of events from the beginning to the end.
