Fern Mallis To Host “House Of Cardin” Screening At Southampton Arts Center

Fern Mallis, the award-winning creator of New York’s Fashion Week, will host a special outdoor, COVID correct screening of House of Cardin on Sunday, September 6 at the Southampton Arts Center, presented by Murmrr. At 7:00 p.m., Mallis will moderate a panel discussion featuring TV and print fashion figures Joanna Coles, Rebecca Moses, Jeffrey Banks and Stan Herman. Fashionistas can shop an outdoor Tamara Mellon Trunk Show (aka “Truck Show”) at 5:30 p.m.

“Pierre Cardin is one of the more extraordinary names in the fashion universe,” Mallis told Hamptons.com. “He created the whole licensing business and became a brand before anyone knew what a brand meant. You forget how much he actually put his name on: fashion, furniture, accessories, jewelry, fragrance, theater costumes, tableware. He even owns Maxim’s restaurants. Today, he’s 99-years-old and I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who hasn’t heard of him.”

Naomi Campbell, Sharon Stone, Jenny Shimizu, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Alice Cooper, Dionne Warwick, and Philippe Starck are among those featured in House of Cardin, an authorized, exclusive look at the man behind the empire by filmmakers P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes (Mansfield 66/67, Hit So Hard, Room 237, Dear Mom Love Cher). Utopia has the North American rights. And there’s a great story behind it.

“The two filmmakers,” Mallis told us, “were guys who loved dressing to the nines, colorful clothing and Pierre Cardin. They collected his designs for years. They learned he visits the Paris store on Tuesdays. So, when they went to Paris, they decided to try to meet him. They went to the boutique on a Tuesday, hung around all day, and befriended everybody. Then they went next door to eat at Maxim’s, which Pierre Cardin owns. All of a sudden, somebody ran into the restaurant to say, ‘Mr. Cardin wants to meet you.’ Off they went. During the conversation, Cardin said, ‘OK, I’ll do the film! When are you ready?’ They had no such plan. They had just told everybody they were filmmakers. Cardin’s people just assumed. And that’s how it all happened!”

To discuss the film, Mallis said she looked for a cross section of industry figures: “Rebecca Moses has been a friend, but I only recently found out one of her first jobs out of FIT, at a ridiculously young age, was for Pierre Cardin, designing his coat and suit collections for one of his licensees in New York. In those days the garment center was completely dominated by coats, suits and dresses, not all the evening and sportswear we see today. Rebecca went to Paris to work with him. So, I wanted to hear her stories.”

“Stan Herman, who has also been an iconic designer forever, is almost a contemporary of Cardin’s and can speak firsthand about the era.”

“Jeffrey Banks, also a longtime friend, is a designer turned author, an encyclopedia of knowledge of the fashion industry and a good story teller.”

Joanna Coles was Chief Content Officer, Hearst Magazines, after being Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan. Like Mallis, she has appeared on television as an industry expert.

Of the venue, Mallis says: “The Southampton Arts Center is a terrific addition to this community, constantly doing things and upping their game. Right now, they have an impressive exhibition in the gallery, about artists responding to COVID-19.

“Last year around this time, I moderated a panel discussion followed by a screening of a documentary about Halston, which was great and had a wonderful turnout. We’re doing the same with House of Cardin. But, with COVID-19 precautions, there are limited tickets, so it’s important to respond quickly.”

To reserve a ticket, email [email protected].

Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton. For more information, visit southamptonartscenter.org.