The Irrepressible Isaac Mizrahi & His Dog Love Story
Isaac and Harry
Big personality. Classic style. A fashion world trailblazer, filmmaker, author and tv host. Even Nicki Minaj and Pharrell have tagged him in song. Who’s this Renaissance man? He’s Isaac Mizrahi and I had the pleasure of speaking with him recently about fashion, yes, but also his other big passion – dogs. Sit back and discover Isaac’s dog love story. He’s definitely one of us.
Don’t miss a great video at the end of this story, one you’ll appreciate all the more, after having read this. 🙂
A little bit of history…
Over the past 30 years, Isaac Mizrahi has come to stand for timeless, cosmopolitan style. His 1995 groundbreaking documentary “Unzipped,” instantly became the quintessential portrait of the young New York designer, and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. And, one of my faves is this. Mizrahi is the man who put the Targét in Target, launching the first capsule collection for the big box back in 2003, light years before the now ubiquitous high-low collaboration (think Karl Lagerfeld for H&M or Balmain, H&M’s newest hi-lo collabo). Yes, Isaac’s signature collections are found in stores across the country. However, you may have also seen his extremely successful ISAACMIZRAHILIVE! on QVC, or caught him on Project Runway All Stars on Lifetime, where he’s head judge. The man’s busy, ok?
An Isaac Mizrahi Fall 2015 look
Meet Harry, Arnold & Dean…
He may be busy, but Mizrahi always has time for his two rescue pups, Harry and Dean. How they each came into his life is a story, Isaac-style. “A friend of mine, Kitty Hawks, a wonderful advocate of dog shelters and dogs in general, did a lot of legwork by herself and with me [in finding Harry],” explained Mizrahi. “I went around meeting all these dogs. It’s a very emotional thing to adopt a dog. Around Christmas of 2000, Kitty called and said, ‘Show up to this cocktail party; a lot of fabulous people will be there, and you’ll have a giant pool of dogs to see.’ So, I got there a little early, expecting to see a bunch of dogs and Kitty came up to me and said, ‘I’ve got your dog,’ like she knew. And, she was right. Out came Harry and I said, he’s s my dog! It was a weird sense of finding each other.” Have you ever experienced that?
Now, Isaac loves dogs, period, and…he’s still a man of fashion. What immediately captured his attention with Harry? “For one, he’s so gorgeous,” Mizrahi enthused. “He’s a handsome boy. He seemed very aloof; he didn’t seem as needy as some of the other dogs. But, as soon as I got him home, he was mush.” That was 15 years ago, and Isaac has never looked back. Today, Harry is 14 and doing great.
Dean came a couple of years later, but Harry was instrumental in changing Isaac’s life, yet again, prior to Dean’s arrival.
Harry is a Border Collie mix. We know they’re incredibly smart and, from what Isaac told me, very high strung. Isaac put it this way: “If he was on a farm running after sheep all day long, he would still have too much energy. I walked that dog everywhere.” But on this day, it was different. “I came from a meeting at a lawyer’s office and I was wearing a suit,” Mizrahi shared. “I was walking Harry in the Village, and that’s when I met Arnold.” That was in 2002, and Isaac and actor, Arnold Germer, have been together as a couple for the past nine years, marrying at City Hall in New York City in 2011, after that state made same sex marriage legal.
Arnold & Isaac
But, Harry played an instrumental role in Isaac being ready for love. “Before I had Harry, I didn’t understand how these things might work in a close exchange,” Mizrahi explained. “It kind of informs you of the implications of love. You look from afar and its not something you can grasp. But, all of a sudden, you get this thing about how you can love somebody; all of a sudden, you’re able to. I really believe that. I was 38 when I got Harry and 39 when I met Arnold, and that’s late in life. But, I feel that’s because of the dog. Granted, I was very involved; my work is still the most important thing. For some reason, it wasn’t an issue; Harry didn’t care that my work was so important. All of a sudden, there was another subject in my life besides tv production and fashion, and all that.”
So, Harry begat Arnold, and it was Arnold who begat Dean. “Arnold just went out one day when he was ready; he didn’t consult with Harry, he didn’t consult with me,” Isaac quipped. “Actually, there was a dog that he almost got, we began to call her Lupita. And, he lost Lupita; she went to someone else. A week later, he just came in with Dean, who is literally this heartbreakingly cute dog. He’s so pretty. He’s also a huge loudmouth; he barks a lot.”
Mr. Personality Dean, from Isaac’s Instagram feed.
What’s parenting like at Isaac & Arnold’s house?
Over the years, Isaac and Arnold have settled in with their two charges. And, they take on different roles, like in many two parent households. Arnold is the one who disciplines; Isaac is the one who indulges. “It’s funny; it’s our one source of discord,” Isaac revealed. “If we ever fight, it’s always about the way I do things with the dogs. I feed them off the table. I do all the things you’re not supposed to and they love me for probably all the wrong reasons. I’m the food wagon, as Arnold refers to me, so they see me and they know they’re going to get a treat.
“Dean loves to sleep in the bed, and I love that, but Arnold doesn’t. Arnold is right. But, you know, you’re walking down the street and you see a bag man and you think, no, I’m not going to give you money because you’re going to do this and that with it. But I’m like, you know what? Shut up, just give the guy $10 because it’ll ease the pain. And, I think dogs with such bad formative experiences…give the dog some chicken for God’s sake! I’m sure it’s pretty bad. I’m empathetic; all they ever eat is kibble!”
Isaac’s dog apparel collection & other fashion stories…
Reversible leopard coat
Isaac launched his dog apparel collection, M. Isaac Mizrahi, a few years ago, featuring adorable plaids, florals, polka dots, even a cute paint splatter collection of dresses, tees and hoodies. He also has some stylish toys; my fave is the plush gold high heel. His collection is sold at many pet retailers and its very affordable. You can shop his collection from my friends at FunnyFur.com here.
This, after all, is a fashion and living stylishly blog. I had to ask; do Harry and Dean ever wear clothing? “Of course they do!,” he exclaimed. “A lot of the fashion is too girly for the boys, but we’ve done sweaters and things that Dean wears, especially since Dean seems to be the right size. Also, Harry is a bit old, so he feels like mutton dressed as lamb in those clothes.” Love that expression; just never heard it applied to a dog before.
Fave pieces? “The best thing Dean has of mine is not from a recent collection, it’s from an older collection I did for Target, but it is my favorite thing I’ve ever done,” Mizrahi gushes. “It’s a Hanukah sweater, this big blue sweater with a big white Jewish star on it. I love it; he goes back to his Jewish roots when he wears that sweater!” Any other cool pieces? Well, I knit myself and Harry matching sweaters,” he said. “His had a big red H on it for Harry, and mine had a big red I on it. And when we used to wear the sweaters together, it would say ‘HI,’ which is good.”
In 2011, Isaac did a brilliant thing for his NYFW runway show. He incorporated the Poodle in such a creative way. The runway clothes, naturally dyed Standard Poodles and these little cakes, carried in on platters by very cute boys, all matched! Even the models sported pouf ball Poodle hairdos. Sheer brilliance! “I do love having made that show,” Mizrahi reminisced. “I just did what I thought at the moment, which was to make cakes that match clothes that match poodles. I don’t know where I got the idea that they were related. Afterwards, it was such a trend on Twitter, and I got these crazy tweets about how could you dye these dogs! Of course, you realize these were absolutely natural dyes, made from food and every one of these Poodles were rescue dogs.”
A cool, upcoming rescue event Isaac is doing…
As we were wrapping up our interview, I asked Isaac what he had coming up that he was looking forward to. “On October 10, there’s a wonderful event that I absolutely adore in East Hampton,” Isaac shared. “The ARF Stroll to the Sea. I usually contribute the artwork on the bags and tee shirts, and for this year, I did this little drawing of Dean. I’m very proud of it; I literally look forward to that event every year!” What Isaac is talking about is the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons’ fundraiser, a two-mile walk to the ocean to raise money for their wonderful shelter. ARF has been a Hamptons staple animal org for years. For more information, or to donate, go here.
Yes, it’s a love affair between Isaac, Harry and Dean. “Harry knows I’m the guy who went to the shelter to get him,” Isaac wistfully shared. “So, Harry is devoted to me in this crazy way. Dean is the smartest guy in the world. And, he knows I’m not the guy who went to pick him up; that would be Arnold. So, he kind of favors Arnold, even though I spend more time with Dean.
“After a while, they really do begin to communicate with you on these deep, deep levels that seem almost more than human. I can’t really explain that. Harry is incredibly smart. If I’m writing, he knows when I’m finished. He’ll start stirring moments before. I don’t know how he knows, but he does.”
Isaac summed it up in a way we can all relate to. When it comes to Harry and Dean, “They own my soul.” Irrepressible…yes. And, with a big, big heart.
Here is a treat! Below is a wonderful video by my friend, Suzanne Donaldson, aka Mrs. Sizzle. This is Suzanne’s interview with Isaac, a longtime friend, about his dogs. It originally ran on her site, MrsSizzle, in January of this year. It made me smile, because I can so relate to indulging my dogs and being so in love with those two, that I probably let them get away with more than I should.
Suzanne executive produced this fun piece; William Abranowicz directed; Jessica Leibowitz edited and John Thayer did the sound.
For even more Isaac, listen to my radio interview with him for my Pet Life Radio show. Subscribe to the Bark & Swagger YouTube channel for more fun interviews and videos!
Is discipline a very fluid thing in your house? What’s your biggest challenge?
