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Zac Posen Spring 2012 RTW

blendnewyork — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:00:29 +0000

The terrace of Avery Fisher Hall as dusk descended over Lincoln Center was the grand setting Zac Posen chose for his return to New York fashion week. The designer famously left his hometown for the City of Light a year ago, declaring, in so many words, that a Paris audience would understand his clothes better. That turned out not to be the case. But this prodigal-son story has a happy ending. He neither overplayed nor tempered his creative instincts, as he had in his first and second seasons, respectively, in Paris. On the contrary: The well-executed dresses and gowns he put on his runway reminded some in the audience of the designer’s early-aughts glory days. Posen focused on cut and fit—the more precise, the better. If corsets aren’t your friends, ladies, this designer is not the man for you. With the accent firmly on the waist, he paired narrow, elongated jackets with high armholes with pencil skirts, and whipped up party dresses with flaring, knee-length hems. Among the mermaid gowns, a midnight blue cord-embroidered sleeveless top and matching evening skirt stood out for the way the look said, “I’m an ingenue,” rather than, “I’m a diva.” We all know Posen can bring the drama; insouciance could turn out to be a growth market for him. (by Nicole Phelps – style.com)

Zac Posen Spring 2011 Runway

blendnewyork — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:04:58 +0000

Having shown his new contemporary collection, Z Spoke, at home in New York, Zac Posen decided to present his signature line in Paris. Gutsy move. The competition here is nothing if not formidable; then again, Posen has never been a shy guy. Today, he not only chose a venue where Yves Saint Laurent famously used to show, but—further upping the ante from his Fall collection, which had a focus on daywear—he turned his attention almost exclusively to evening.

After opening with some smart tweed jackets with puffed shoulders and stand-up collars, the designer wasted no time getting to cocktail hour, and that’s when all the black lace, and feathers kicked in. The vibe: showgirl boudoir. Posen’s signature silhouette hasn’t changed; it’s still nipped and paneled at the waist, but cutouts are part of the sexy mix for Spring—and that meant there was a lot going on. The pieces that will make it into the closets of his party-set fans—and onto the red carpet—were the least fussy, like a vibrant red silk dress with a swirling, draped bodice, or a black ombré silk gown with a spray of feathers on each shoulder. Subtlety has never been Posen’s MO, nor are we suggesting it should be, but it wouldn’t have hurt if he’d picked up a few pointers on chic simplicity from Monsieur Saint Laurent.

(by Nicole Phelps – style.com)

Zac Posen Fall 2010 Collection

blendnewyork — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:07:09 +0000

A recent New York Times article put the spotlight on Zac Posen’s recession-induced financial woes. It hasn’t been easy for a still-smallish business like his to survive the great retail panic of the last 18 months. In that, of course, he’s hardly alone. Today, Posen was back at the modest Altman Building for a second season in a row, and clothing-wise he seemed to be cutting back still further for Fall. There wasn’t a single gown on the runway. That must be tough for a designer in love with ball skirts and shoulder flourishes, but in their absence, he injected more than a fair bit of showmanship into the sportswear.

Posen gave his pantsuits a forties flair, putting contrasting cuffs and lapels along with strong shoulders on cropped jackets and pinning a brooch to the waistbands of his full-legged, fluid trousers. There was also a sweet little ice-skating dress in dove gray jersey with a silk wool skirt. If he’s still trying to establish an identity for his daywear and not exactly succeeding, Posen is much more confident when it comes to evening. This season he’s thinking short and pink, because, hey, wallflowers aren’t his type. In New York, at least, the recession hasn’t really managed to put a dent in the late-night scene. His corseted minidresses will find happy homes indeed with the party-hopping set.

(by Nicole Phelps – style.com)