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Zac Posen
IN AN INTERVIEW with the rap–R&B
singer Mary J. Blige, Ed Bradley, veteran newsman for 60 Minutes,
made the observation (in reference to Ms Blige’s obvious star power)
that ‘the trick to being a star is having the talent to handle one’s
talent [properly].’ Take it one step further, and the same could
be said about Zac Posen, the 2004 CFDA
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This collection
was his strongest yet. It was directional, sophisticated,
fully developed and mercifully short
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Fashion Awards winner of the Swarovski Perry Ellis Award for Ready-to-Wear.
I first became aware of Mr Posen at a Gen Art show, where he blew
everyone away with his designs. Fast forward several years, and
an accelerated learning curve, and what you have is indeed the future
of fashion.
Mr Posen, in an interview with Fashion Week
Daily’s Jim Shi, prior to the CFDA
ceremony held at the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, expresses
the belief that the key to staying successful is the willingness
‘to continue pushing yourself creatively and find new ways to expand
your vision from a business prospective. [It takes] curiosity, [an]
eagerness to learn more than you think you already know and drive
in staying on top of your game.’ And he is proof that this is all
true.
In the past, he has been subjected—and rightly
so—to criticism that he was the poster child for design shortcuts
and hasn’t given enough thought and time to fully developing his
craft; but this collection was his strongest yet. It was directional,
sophisticated, fully developed and mercifully short (34 looks).
His stated desire (again to Mr Shi) is to create
‘pieces for women [that make them] feel confident, sexy, and like
they can take on the world,’ which puts him exactly where he should
be at this stage of his life and career. He titled his show Blixen,
a take off on the German word for lightening, and lightening did
struck that day at Bryant Park. He opened his show with model Gemma
Ward wearing a reversible mink vest over a blue silk blouse and
gold linen short pants, a look that was at once stridently aggressive
yet softly laid back at the same time. I loved his swing skirt lilac
chiffon dress, and the way it expresses a lightness and unforced
sense of ease. Susan Eldredge in his white angora jacket-and-cape
combo was a crisp contrast to his more colourful pink chiffon and
jersey shirt, but each piece was lovely in its own right. Carmen
Kass in a sexy pale blue silk gown topped by a black leather (and
Lycra) jacket was a veritable feast of soft and hard, as was his
black leather (and Lycra) trench coat. Karen Elson worked the room
in his pink cashmere pintuck jersey dress, and Angela Lindvall was
a modern diva in his green wool jersey dress. (And we cannot say
enough about the quirky deerskin equestrian hats, saddle-shaped
handbags and those wonderful shoes.)
For evening, the abundance of choices here means
that there is a dress style to suit every woman. My favourite pieces
from this section include his teal charmeuse and chiffon gown (a
design later worn by Revlon spokesperson, Eva Mendes, at the Costume
Institute benefit gala in late April), his slightly mod blue, green
and nude pieced chiffon dress, his statuesque silver satin and blue
chiffon goddess gown and the finalé pièce de résistance,
a dusty blue princess organza gown that literally floated on air
down the runway. Bravo Zac, It’s good to have you back where you
belong!
He has dedicated himself to continue to ‘stay true
to [his vision] and make great clothes, work hard, and push the envelope
when[ever he] can’; I hope this continues to be the case. He once
had a somewhat loose grip on his talents, but now he has it all firmly
in hand, including financial backing from Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs to
expand his company, Outspoken LLC, into
other areas of growth such as a lower-priced bridge line and a menswear
collection.
CONTINUED
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