Fern Mallis—the award-winning creator of New York Fashion Week—has been hailed as an industry titan, a fashion doyenne, and is widely known as the “Godmother of Fashion.” After two decades of influential leadership at the CFDA and IMG Fashion, she now President of her own international consulting firm.
For the past 15 years, Mallis has been the esteemed host of the acclaimed and consistently sold-out conversation series Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis at 92NY. She is also, the author of 2 companion book published by Rizzoli which chronicles these in-depth interviews with the industry’s most celebrated figures.
A passionate advocate for emerging talent, Mallis has advised multiple regional fashion weeks—including Nashville, Charleston, and Philly Fashion Week amongst others—and continues to nurture the next generation of innovators. Most recently, she has taken 9-year-old designer and internet personality Max Alexander under her wing, providing mentorship and industry guidance as he develops his early career.
Mallis has been honored with numerous prestigious awards throughout her career, including the Fashion Industry Lifetime Achievement Award from Pratt Institute (presented by Calvin Klein) and the FIT President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She was inducted into Business of Fashion’s BoF 500 Hall of Fame.
Mallis was a founding board member of DIFFA, and currently serves on the board of the FIT Foundation, the Advisory Board of ShopRepurpose and The Conservation Council of Panthera and is on the ECOFashion Corp Board of Advisors.
In recent years, she has continued to receive major recognition for her leadership, philanthropy, and impact on the industry. Her latest honors include the Icon of Innovation Award from Fashion Group International; DIFFA Dallas’ “Legend in the Fight Against AIDS” Award; recognition as one of the “25 Most Inspirational Women for 2024”, the ACE Hall of Fame Award (presented by Tamron Hall); Giving the Glam’s “Making the Difference” Award; Delivering Good’s “Impact Speaker” Award; and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation “Fashion Cares” Award.
Most recently, she has received FGI’s Founders Award (presented by Stephanie Ruhle); the Connect2Vision and Culture Award from CaringKind, presented by Kenneth Cole; and the 2025 Impact Award from the American Heart Association for her work creating the Red Dress initiative. Fern Mallis remains one of the most influential and respected voices in global fashion, celebrated for her leadership, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to advancing and shaping the industry.
Fern Mallis remains one of the most influential and respected voices in global fashion, celebrated for her leadership, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to advancing and shaping the industry. At this stage of life, involvement with CaringKind is particularly meaningful, as many friends and family are navigating the challenges of caring for loved ones with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
https://fernmallis.com/
