Fern Mallis On The Legacy Of The Red Dress Campaign

Fern Mallis’s career spans the gamut of fashion. She was the Executive Director of the CFDA, the creator of New York Fashion Week, and the senior vice president of IMG Fashion. She continues to host her conversation series, “Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis,” at the 92Y in Manhattan, where she has interviewed many fashion greats, including Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Donna Karan, and Calvin Klein.

Fern was instrumental in the creation and success of the Red Dress Campaign, which raises awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of women. The campaign, to this day, features top designers who create stunning red dresses, which are then worn on the runway by well-known women from diverse backgrounds. 

At a recent shopping event at Michael Kors in Southampton to benefit the American Heart Association’s Heart of the Hamptons campaign ahead of its Sand & Style Soirée summer gala, Fern gave a talk with James Lane Post about her connection to the Red Dress campaign and Michael Kors’ involvement as one of the first designers to create a Red Dress for the inaugural fashion show in 2003. 

Fern explained that a team from Ogilvy & Mather, a global marketing communications company based in Washington, D.C., was developing a campaign focused on women’s heart health in collaboration with Susan Blumenthal, the director of the Office on Women’s Health. Among the team members was Ronnie Denn, the mother of Maja Chiesi, a top model booker at IMG Models. She approached Fern for assistance in engaging the fashion industry in support of the cause. The idea was born.

The launch of the Red Dress Collection at New York Fashion Week began with a presentation of dresses on mannequins in the fountain under the Bryant Park tents. The following year, it evolved into a full-fledged fashion show. Michael Kors was one of the designers involved from the beginning.

“With this campaign, we got mannequins, and we said, ‘Let’s get designers to do red dresses.’ And of course, Michael is always on the top of our minds when we do something. You always get Donna and Calvin and Ralph and Michael, and then it goes on from there. And they all contributed a red dress that was on a mannequin inside the fountain. It was so successful that we said, ‘How do we top that?’ The next year, plans were made to do a fashion show.”

Michael Kors dressed Frankie Rayder in the inaugural show. “It started the first year with all the top IMG models — Shalom Harlow, Carolyn Murphy, and Amber Valletta — they all were in the show, and every designer wanted a red dress to be featured,” said Fern.

Before the Red Dress Campaign, Fern worked on Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, a campaign co-founded by Ralph Lauren, which was licensed to various fashion organizations and fashion weeks worldwide and raised millions of dollars for research.

They called on First Lady Hillary Clinton to become involved in the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign, said Fern. “So when the Red Dress campaign came about, I said to the team at Ogilvy, because they’re very connected in Washington, ‘You need to get First Lady Laura Bush involved because that just takes it to another level.’ And they did.”

Fern played a crucial role in First Lady Laura Bush’s campaign involvement. “Laura Bush is a sweetheart,” said Fern. “She is the nicest, fabulous lady… Laura Bush came on board, and I became her point person. I was designated to greet her, bring her in, walk her through, explain everything, and sit with her at the show, and she could not have been more supportive and charming.”

Laura Bush was the only First Lady to attend New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park, said Fern, and she continued to do so in the years following. The shows were a fantastic success, leading to many years of the Red Dress Show and the Red Dress Heart Truth campaign. “The following year, it was celebrities. One year it was the theme of musicians, and then another year, it was all the TV stars, and then, athletes from every walk of life,” Fern said of the show’s evolution.

“Every publicist and agent wanted their client to be in the Red Dress campaign because it was such an important cause. I can’t even tell you the backstage nightmares of which ones needed a private place to dress,” she laughed. “The media that came for each of these Red Dress shows was just unbelievable, and sponsorships kept coming in.”

Over the past 20 years, this successful campaign has significantly raised awareness among women about heart disease. It emphasizes the importance of risk reduction and prevention. The campaign has spread the message globally, and fashion shows promoting this cause continue to this day.

“The shows went on for years, and they eventually outgrew the tents. The red dress became like the pink ribbon — it became the symbol of heart disease,” said Fern. 

“It’s really an extraordinary campaign because it’s about awareness. I think most people don’t know that heart disease is the number one killer of women. People think it’s other things, but it’s heart disease. And it’s, for the most part, preventable. It’s preventable by diet and exercise, taking care of yourself, and understanding what those issues are.”

Twenty percent of all sales from the shopping event at Michael Kors in Southampton went to benefit the American Heart Association’s Heart of the Hamptons Campaign. During the talk, Fern reflected on her relationship with Kors.

“Besides being so extraordinarily talented, his clothing is spectacular,” said Fern. “This is Michael Kors that I’m wearing, from a couple of years ago, and it’s just timeless. When I interviewed Michael, it was one of my early interviews at the 92Y series, ‘Fashion Icons.’ We said, ‘You know, if you weren’t a designer, you really should do stand-up.’ I mean, he really is funny. And what a remarkable career he’s had and continues to have. He’s really special.”

Fern is this year’s recipient of the American Heart Association Impact Award at the Heart of the Hamptons Sand & Style Soirée on Friday, June 27, at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club. Tickets are available now.

Jessica Mackin-Cipro

Co-Publisher/Editor

Jessica Mackin-Cipro is an editor and lifestyle writer from the East End of Long Island. She was previously the Executive Editor of The Independent Newspaper and co-founded James Lane Post in 2020. She has won multiple NYPA and PCLI awards for journalism, design, and social media, including the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence. In 2023, she was a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award at the United Nations 67th Annual Commission on the Status of Women. She aims to share the stories of inspirational people and places on the East End and beyond.