As the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America from 1991 to 2001, Fern Mallis was instrumental in helping to create what is now commonly known as New York Fashion Week.

In 1993, she led the charge to centralize the big American fashion shows by creating Seventh on Sixth Productions, the precursor to NYFW. In the years that followed, the event expanded and transformed in different ways, with Bryant Park being the base camp for 16 years.

In 2001, when Seventh on Sixth was sold to IMG, Mallis became senior vice president of IMG Fashion and later rolled out fashion weeks internationally in such locations as Los Angeles, Berlin and Melbourne, Australia. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed at that time but proceeds from the sale benefited the CFDA Foundation to further philanthropic endeavors. It also shifted Seventh on Sixth from a nonprofit to a private company.

After a 10-year run with IMG, Mallis went on to create her own “Fashion Icons” talk series at 92Y with designers and fashion types, and has published two books culled from those interviews.

In a recent interview, she discussed her CFDA years, as well as successes and struggles there.

After reading in WWD that the CFDA’s then-president Carolyne Roehm had resigned and executive director Robert Isabell’s contract had not been renewed, Mallis’ interest was piqued. Industry friends encouraged her to pursue the executive director’s post, so she sent a résumé to Stan Herman…