Above: Zac Posen, preparing for the fall 2002 shows. His will be off-site.

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Lucire: You also have some high-powered models that are big fans of your clothing as well?

ZP: That came through by living in New York City and working within the industry at a very young age. I was casting shows at 17 working with Kevin Krier; I was not a young fashion victim. I really had an idea of what I liked in fashion and how I dressed. I love clothing and I love dressing and finding innovative clothing. I was meeting these girls who were the same age as me and working with them, it’s a very vulnerable and tense business. I have been friends with Karen Elson for a very long time, when she first came to New York; along with Angela Lindvall and Erin O’Connor. They really work hard, I really respect them, and the’re smart and that is why they have gotten to where they are.

Lucire: So with working hard you’re going to be doing your first show. How’s the pre-production?

ZP: it’s going pretty well, it’s a nerve-racking experience. We are presenting 25 looks. There are a lot of fittings to be done. The body shapes in the collection are meant to represent a huge demographic of body shapes and image, as well to represent different themes of what the body images represent, different characters of body images. We’re going to try and show five different body shapes in the collection. The clothing should fit that many different body shapes.

Lucire: The pear shape, the hourglass?

ZP: I think that’s really beautiful to take different body shapes. I think it’s about the individual woman and not about a uniformed look. It’s reinventing style for these modern women who are all different within a collection that all goes together.

Lucire: So with fashion going conglomerate from what I can see, Gucci, LVMH, Pegasus now no more, with you being an independent designer do you find it hard to do you job?

ZP: Yes, very difficult. There are amazing companies who have many designers but I’m just starting out and I have just entered the fashion industry so we are just getting along with what we have. I wasn’t born a philanthropist. I started this on my own and I slowly started to bring in people and I had enough money to support it. It’s a very small business.

Lucire: When you’re designing do you concentrate more on your cut and structure or is it more colour or everything?

ZP: Oh it’s a combination of everything. I think you have to look at proportion and you have to look at the idea and feeling you’re trying to get to, that movement, that sound.

Lucire: Sound?

ZP: I did a lot of dresses with extra fabric. I was using silk with a very heavy weight and the woman who wore this dress just made this sound, it was a swish and a whip; little whips, it sounded like a sail in the wind.

Lucire: That’s something that I would think that most designers would not think about.

ZP: I mean pants make a lot of noise.

Lucire: If you were not designing what would you be doing?

ZP: I’d be an actor, politician or a chef.

Lucire: Your Gen Art show left me with a sense of women wanting your clothes opposed to needing your clothes. Would you agree with that statement?

ZP: Of course.

Lucire: There is a certain appeal to your clothes that to me brought out a ‘Wow, look at that dress, look how he cut it, look at the colour he chose for that dress and the finishing.’

ZP: Yeah the finishing should be about embellishing. That’s what we are trying to get with my first public presentation, aside from showing a few select pieces.

Lucire: Are there any designers who you are looking up to?

ZP: Yves St Laurent who is a amazing designer, he was a trailblazer, a huge trend-maker. I think Alexander McQueen is a great designer.

Lucire: Are there any actresses who you really want to dress?

ZP: I’d love to dress Madonna, she’s a cultural receive dish.

Lucire: I love that phrase ‘cultural receive dish’.

ZP: Yeah, think about those giant dishes in South America who are receiving the culture. Somebody who is able to take it and reinterpret and expose it to the masses is really important. As an artist, it’s a huge goal to undertake within America. It’s a major goal because it’s something which is not supported within our culture.

Lucire: Where do you see yourself in five years and where do you see the house of Zac Posen?

ZP: I don’t know what my future will be. I would love to expand my house into a larger market, into menswear, sportswear and to really grow a high-quality product. As well as presenting artistic shows and showing clothing as sculpture. Expanding a commercial side of the clothes as well as couture.
   Reintroducing couture to America is a big goal. I’m working with the most talented craftsmen and craftswomen I can find. I’m very lucky to have the team that I work with and the ability to produce incredible garments within America. Richard Spiegel

Richard Spiegel is New York Editor of Lucire. This interview was conducted in mid-January 2002.

Copyright ©2002 by JY&A Media, a division of Jack Yan & Associates. All rights reserved.
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