Fern Mallis is among fashion's most acclaimed figures, having almost singlehandedly raised the profile of New York Fashion Week—and, by extension, the Council of Fashion Designers of America—to an international level. No small feat, this involved the formation of the Bryant Park tents, before their recent migration north to Lincoln Center, where, in February, the city's most celebrated designers will once again dazzle with their latest collections.

Mallis has also been vital in the creation of Fashion Weeks worldwide, from Berlin to India, where she now spends much of her time. She also hosts a series of intimate talks at the 92nd Street Y, guests of which have included Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein and, most recently, the effervescent Betsey Johnson. In addition, she's broadcast on Sirius XM radio and runs her own consulting agency.

Above all, perhaps, Mallis is a keeper of moments in fashion, a guardian of its memories, and she isn't afraid to play raconteur. She watched, for example, chunks of ceiling fall onto models at a Michael Kors show in the early nineties, as she recalls here, exclusively on ARTINFO.