Fern Mallis at the National Arts Club

Photo by Denton Taylor

On Friday evening, we went to the National Arts Club (NAC) for a "Fashion Speaks" event featuring an interview with Fern Mallis.

Hailed as the award-winning creator of New York’s Fashion Week, Fern Mallis has been called an industry titan, doyenne, and The Godmother of Fashion. As the creator and host of the premiere conversation series "Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis" at New York’s 92nd Street Y, she has assembled an incredible roster of guests for her now signature in-depth interviews, including Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Diane von Fürstenberg, Marc Jacobs,Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta, and Valentino.

In 2015, she released her book Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis (published by Rizzoli USA), the much lauded compendium of nineteen of her 92nd Street Y interviews, including an array of never-before-seen images detailing both the public and private lives of her interviewees.

Meaghan poses in front of the poster listing the names of the individuals whose interviews appear in the book.

Mallis is consistently quoted in the fashion press and broadcast media, and has been featured on "America's Next Top Model", "She's Got the Look", "The Fashion Show", and four seasons of "Project Runway". Here she is on stage at the NAC listening to a question from the audience.

Ms. Mallis has been honored with numerous accolades and awards, including The Pratt Institute's Fashion Industry Lifetime Achievement Award and the Fashion Institute of Technology President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She’s been featured in the BoF (Business of Fashion) 500: The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry, and in 2014 was inducted into their Hall of Fame.  The former senior vice president of IMG Fashion and former executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America is currently president of her own leading international fashion and design consultancy.

We reconnected with  the lovely Annika Conner at the event, who was wearing a glamorous red dress.

The National Arts Club, located in a beautiful townhouse with Gilded Age interiors, was decorated for the holidays.

Jean sat next to Sevigne (who was also wearing a terrific red dress) but lost track of her at the end of the interview. Luckily, we ran into her downstairs near the coat check and were able to snap this photo. Isn't she a doll?

Denton Taylor, who took our opening photograph, also took this parting shot of us on the stairs as we were leaving.

After we turned the tables on them, Teresa and Denton indulged us by posing for a photo before heading home after the event.

Fellow hat lover Diana Mattos joined us afterward for (what else?) cocktails. We found a quiet spot at Bread and Tulips, a cozy downstairs restaurant in the nearby Hotel Giraffe, which had acceptable decibel levels (bars get a pass or fail based on whether someone has to ask the question WHA-AT? each time a member of the group speaks) and more than acceptable cocktails. Diana is better known on Etsy as DivaWear Designs, where she sells wonderfully witty accessories of her own making.  Although she didn't make the hat she was wearing, she did embellish it with feathers and pin.  She also embellished her lipstick with sparkles (that don't come off!), but she swore us to secrecy, so we can't tell you how she did it.  We got really lucky when two women sitting at the next table offered to take pictures of us

What a great way to start the weekend!