VIV Says: Blog

Isaac Mizrahi commissioned Wayne Thiebaud's "Neopolitan Cupcakes" for his group show at Julie Saul Gallery.

We’re always curious where fashion designers find their inspiration, and apparently we’re not alone. Isaac Mizrahi, whose Bravo program The Fashion Show just wrapped up its first season last night, notes on his website, “Everything inspires me in some way. Just walking down the streets of my neighborhood in New York, I get 1,000 ideas.” His reference page of things he finds compelling includes Tartan: Romancing the Plaid by Jeffrey Banks and Doria de La Chapelle, Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad, Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables and the movie All About Eve (one of our favorites as well). So when we heard that Mizrahi was curating a Summer Pictures group show displayed until Sept. 12 at the Julie Saul Gallery in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, we knew we’d find a variety of fascinating pieces — as we’ve come to expect from him on the runway.

Julie Saul says that when Mizrahi suggested curating a show at her namesake gallery, “I was thrilled.” Saul knows Mizrahi through artist Maira Kalman, whose works are displayed at the exhibition (our favorites of hers include “Breakfast With Sabine” and “Breakfast in Jerusalem”). You may also recognize her work from various New Yorker covers and her monthly blog on The New York Times site. But it was one of Donna Chung’s mixed-media pieces that held our companion to the exhibition transfixed, as he insisted he’d seen it somewhere before. Mizrahi selected each piece for the show and even convinced artist Wayne Thiebaud to create a painting specifically for it: “Neopolitan Cupcakes,” which depicts a trio of confections with frosted vanilla, chocolate and strawberry colors. Other artists include Jane Freilicher, Maureen Gallace, Adrianne Lobel, Lisa Sanditz and Julia Sherman.

It’s always interesting to see where designers and artists find inspiration. Do you have a muse or something that sparks your creativity?

Credit: Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery