Fern Mallis

Fern Mallis (born March 26, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York) was the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) from 1991–2001, and created 7th on Sixth productions or New York Fashion Week as it is known today. She was also senior vice president of IMG Fashion from 2001 to 2010. Mallis is currently president of her own international fashion and design consultancy, Fern Mallis LLC. She received her BFA from University at Buffalo.

In 1993, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), led by executive director Fern Mallis and president Stan Herman, created a centralized fashion week known as 7th on Sixth in New York City's Bryant Park. In July 2001 IMG acquired 7th on Sixth, and Mallis became Senior VP of IMG Fashion, leading new Fashion Weeks in Miami, Los Angeles, Berlin, Moscow, and Mumbai, and adding others including Sydney and Melbourne. In February 2013 at Lincoln Center during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Big Shows, a photo-retrospective by photographer Camilo Him, celebrated New York Fashion Week in the 1990s, including Mallis' work.

Mallis also served as a global "ambassador" for IMG, advising in many countries on organizing fashion events, judging fashion shows, and mentoring students. She has been widely quoted in the fashion press and featured on TV programs including America's Next Top Model, She's Got the Look, and four seasons of Project Runway; she was the weekly judge on Bravo's first season of The Fashion Show, with Isaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland. She was also a consulting producer for The Fashion Show and for CW's reality television series ReModeled.

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