Anyone who has ever wondered about Stan Herman’s age got the answer on Tuesday night. “87,” he exclaimed on stage at the 92Y during his “Fashion Icons” talk with Fern Mallis. The disclosure was just of the memorable moments of the chat between two former colleagues (he was president of the CFDA and she its executive director).
“Some people called us the odd couple, but whatever we were called and we were called a lot of things, we accomplished a great deal,” Mallis said. “We had good times and bad times but always memorable times.”
She added that Herman has history –“his own and the fashion industry’s” – before going on to address some of Herman’s personal quirks.
“He loves maps but can’t read or program his GPS,” she said. “He plays pretty good tennis every week. He is the gayest sportsman I know and still has more sex than the boys on Fire Island.”
Here, CFDA.com recounts some of the most memorable quips of the night:
On age: “How old do I look? Seriously, sometimes I feel quite old. Sometimes, I look in the mirror and say, ‘where did all that go to?’ But then there are other times that I feel very good about myself. I am one of those lucky people to have lived long enough and really love my life. I feel older, but there is a young heart in there.”
On astrology: “I am very Virgo. I can see someone’s sign by their physical features. I woke up to somebody saying, you’re a Scorpio. There are four elements—this strictly Stan Herman scientific crap—but there is earth, fire, water, air. I think people are either full of water in their face…there is a slight puffiness in the face.”
On his bar mitzvah: “I had the grandest Bar Mitzvah in our garage. We put this big chandelier up and it was pre-Studio 54. I was wonderful at my Bar Mitzvah. I did the whole prayers, I shoved the rabbi aside.”
On college: “This was 1946, right after the second world war. There were so many people coming back who had to get into school. I didn’t want to stay in New York. I was a little frightened of my sexuality at the time so I looked for a city and a campus where there was a symphony orchestra, where there was some culture. I had a wonderful time.”
On being gay in the army: “I probably knew the gene was there but in the army, it sort of fell into place.”
On meeting his partner Gene Horowitz: “It just hit me. I said to him, ‘I am busy tonight but I will be finished by about 2. Would you call me?’ I gave him my number, and when I touched him, I just felt this [electric spark]. I didn’t have a phone, it was in the hallway. He called, he came up, and that was 40 years.”
On the CFDA and not getting in at first: “The CFDA was a different organization at the time. It was very very small, tight ….they weren’t ready for the onslaught of the young designers. Eventually, I got in.
On becoming CFDA president: “Everything happened at once. Gene died. And the CFDA become my love.”
On the chance to going into with Ralph Lauren (and not pursuing it): “[Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel] was concerned that Ralph didn’t know how to make a dress. He was just starting in the dress business. She said, ‘Why don’t you go up there and talk to him about it.’ It was 55th right above what is now Michael’s. There was Ralph in his undershirt. He showed me his clothes that were so beautiful – the colors and the prints were so beautiful – but they were clunky. He said, let’s have lunch. I thought he would put a jacket on…and I thought, ‘What am I wearing a tie for?’ We had a wonderful lunch and talked about the possibility…but I was so full of myself at that time.”
On Marc Jacobs, his intern: “Marc was 16. Interesting, for me anyway, was that I was hiring young apprentices from high school. My studio was very open. It’s not that I was throwing my sexuality around but I talked openly about who I was and what I wasn’t. Marc said here on stage said the reason he remembers the studio is because he felt welcome as a gay person.”
On young designers today: “I have sympathy, pity for them. Business is so sharp-edged. There are lots of great talents. I don’t know if they are being allowed to develop in the way we were when we were younger. It’s tough. The demands of the stores are extraordinary…the demands of profit margins are extraordinary. It’s taken the guts out of creativity.”
On Donald Trump and Princess Diana: “It was the year that Princess Diana was [at the CFDA Fashion Awards] to give an award to Liz Tilberis. Fern and I decided that there would be an after-party with Susanne Bartsch as the host. We were all dancing up a storm. Susanne, when she puts her act together, is about six feet tall and I am five foot four on a good day. We were dancing and she said, ‘dip me.’ I dropped her and I fell on top of her. Bill Cunningham photographed it and I was in the society section next week and it said “Stan Herman on Top of.” That Monday I was in my office, the phone rang and it was Donald Trump, and he said to me, ‘Stan, how was it being on top of Princess Di.” I said, ‘No, it was Susanne Bartsch.’ I thought it was hysterical.”