Isaac Mizrahi Readies for His ‘Democracy' Show

Yahoo

10-07-2025

Isaac Mizrahi and his band will be back at 54 Below in New York next month with his show 'Isaac Mizrahi Survives Democracy.'Given the state of the world, that's one tall order, but the fashion designer is disciplined in his approach to deliver 'a searing look at where we are today.' The performances will be Aug. 6 to 9. Although he writes a good amount of material in advance, Mizrahi said 'sometimes the best lines come from me just extemporizing. I think that's why I have such stage fright. I prepare. I really respect an audience, and I want them to see a good show. And the music is rehearsed, rehearsed and rehearsed,' he said. 'And sometimes I just say things and that becomes what the show is about.'With music ranging from Billie Eilish to Cole Porter, Mizrahi chimes in about such subjects as politics, Pride and Ozempic. Having performed in Naples, Fla., and other locales like the Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, S.C., he said the audience's enthusiasm varies. 'At Spoleto a few weeks ago, I did three shows. I was a little scared because it's the South and who knows who's sponsoring what,' Mizrahi said. 'But the first thing I said was 'Happy Pride.' And people just lost their minds.'He continued, 'The second thing I always say in the show is, 'Darlings, what the f–k are we going to do?' They loved it because people have been asking themselves that question.'His repertoire includes some lyrics he writes like ''Drop That Name,' which is just a bunch of names,' and 'The Cellphone Haiku,' which is written to one of my ringtones and has all of these very neurotic thoughts I have, when my cellphone rings.' There is also a tribute to the actor Timothée Chalamet, whom Mizrahi played a scene with in the upcoming film 'Marty Supreme.' Mizrahi said, 'We worked one day together. I don't know what he would do if he knew I was doing a tribute number to him. But he's so funny, wonderful and cute.'The designer was even more adulatory about Gwyneth Paltrow, who is also in the film that debuts Dec. 25. 'Gwyneth is so f–king talented. I had this tiny little scene with her, where I had nothing to do. But she had this big emotional reaction. They shot it like 17 times and she did it 17 times. I couldn't believe how great she was. She is really a good actor,' Mizrahi said. 'I played her publicist 'Merle.' That's the name of the character. I have had a few press agents myself along the way, so I had a few ideas.'The film's director Josh Safdie delves into subjects and did so for the film that is set in the 1950s. For his role, Mizrahi said he personally thought a lot about 'how people comported themselves in those days.'Mizrahi is also a contributing producer to the Hulu show 'Mid Century Modern,' and he has made a few cameos. Having looked at scripts and offered some ideas and jokes here and there, he hoped the show's co-creator Max Mutchnick will come see his 54 Below show.Mizrahi will also be performing his 'I Know Everybody' show on Aug. 10 at Guild Hall in East Hampton, N.Y., where he will tell stories about Liza Minnelli and Sandra Bernhard, as well as offer a tribute to Jon Hamm, who he 'barely knows.' Mizrahi said, 'He sort of flirts with me. That's what those gorgeous people do. They don't know they're doing it, but they do.' As for the current state of fashion, the designer said Jonathan Anderson's debut collection at Dior and Michael Rider's collection for Celine were 'thrilling.' He said, 'They don't look like a lot. You need to have to know something about clothes in order to love those shows. It's not showboating. It looks beautiful and it's about the clothes. If anything is going to reignite the clothing business, it's designers trying to differentiate between what they make for the red carpet and what they make for people to be influenced by or to actually wear.'
He added, 'That sounds like a crazy old fart thing to say. But after a while, there are only so many instructions that nobody cares about. I loved those collections, because they looked directional in ther nothingness.'
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As for the Ozempic craze, he said, 'It looks like you've taken the stuffing out of the stuffed animal. It doesn't look natural or cool. It just looks like sad. People don't look happy when they're on Ozempic.'
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