For the past 50 years in the American fashion industry, Stan Herman has been an enduring constant. At 96 years old, he’s had a career full of exceptional moments as godfather of American fashion and has been decorated with numerous accolades.

His story has been told through countless mediums: through his 16 years as CFDA President, the uniforms he outfitted some of America’s biggest corporations in, the almost 1 million units of loungewear he’s sold on QVC, and through his own words via the 2023 memoir “Uncross Your Legs: A Life in Fashion.”

But who exactly is Stan Herman?

“Stan is a journeyman who found himself interested in design. He’s a good designer who had a beautiful career in a great city and wonderful friends to keep him afloat when things were not so easy,” he replies with a tone of nostalgia but also with levity and humor which has long characterized his personality.

In 1975, Herman first claimed his stake in the city in a studio he found in disrepair overlooking Bryant Park, and half a century later, he remains the longest standing tenant in the landmark building. It could be said that he became an heir to an eighth-floor legacy of past great American artists—before it was his, it belonged to noted fashion photographer Irving Penn, and even before that, it was the studio of one of the country’s preeminent illustrators, J. C. Leyendecker.

The space in which we’re in has been a place where many American fashion greats have gathered, like original CFDA Board of Directors meetings with Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and the late Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Mary McFadden and Geoffrey Beene. It’s also where he spent time with his muses Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters and Lauren Hutton, and where seismic ideas, like how 7th on Sixth brought New York Fashion Week to Bryant Park or fashion’s most successful fundraiser for AIDS 7th on Sale, came to be.

After the death of his husband of 40 years, Gene Horowitz, and 10 years of drunken pleasure as the hottest designer on Seventh Avenue, when the CFDA came knocking, the organization became his lover and stepped into the immense void he felt.

“A lot of people know Stan as the CFDA President, as the designer,” Herman said. “And few people get to see Stan as a human.”

So, where does an American fashion magnate who has arguably seen and done more than the average person, do now?

Herman still feeds the sparrows on 40th Street and has breakfast in the park. But now, he gets to sit on his bench gifted by Tommy Hilfiger in honor of the 18 years of fashion week at the Bryant Park tents during his term as CFDA President—and it’s still the best seat in the house. He may not be able to physically write anymore, but he hasn’t stopped sketching. The meditative act has always been the cornerstone of his design practice. He also hasn’t stopped working, serving on the Bryant Park and Garment District boards, giving speeches at awards ceremonies, or attending CFDA events.

Perhaps it’s hard to separate the work from the person, because they might be inextricable, but it’s not something Herman regrets. Maybe he wishes that his soulmate Horowitz, a novelist who helped Herman become more intellectual and appreciate art, would be around to see how much the world has changed and see that he ended up writing a book.

“I would like a few more years to accomplish what I have to accomplish. That’s a wish list,” Herman said. “I would hope that the rest of my life will be a comfortable one.”

His name is etched into the fabric of our city, into the history of our organization, and on the catwalks of the American collections. But what does such a person of rank, power, influence, and distinction want to ultimately be remembered as?

“Being a good guy in a very, very tricky world.”