Zac Posen, who made a name for himself in the world of fashion design at a young age, reaches a wide audience with his luxury clothing and accessories.
A designer rises
Zachary E. Posen, an American fashion designer known for his glamorous evening gowns and cocktail dresses, was born on October 24, 1980 in New York City. Zac Posen grew up in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood with his lawyer mother Susan Orzack and painter father Stephen Arnold Posen. Since Zac Posen’s family roots go back to a wide geography such as Shklow, Belarus and Poland, the designer had the opportunity to broaden his perspective on life at an early age by being influenced by different cultures. Zac Posen, whose interest in fashion design started at an early age, secretly stole his grandparents’ clothes as a child to make prom dresses for dolls. However, Zac Posen was always tolerated by his family because of the beauty of the dresses he created. When he was thirteen, he attended Saint Ann’s School, an independent art school in Brooklyn, and in the second year of school, he started an internship with fashion designer Nicole Miller. It was here that he won the Scholastic Art and Writing Award for one of his design. Zac Posen, who proved his talent for art and design at an early age, enrolled in the pre-university program of Parsons The New School for Design, one of the most famous and prestigious fashion schools in the world, when he was only sixteen years old. After graduating from Saint Ann’s in 1999, Posen worked as a consultant to curator Richard Martin at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for three years. At the age of eighteen, he was accepted into the womenswear BA program at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, affiliated with the University of the Arts London. In 2001, Posen designed a dress made entirely of thin strips of leather, hooks and eyes, which was presented by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the exhibition “Curvaceous”.
Posen is in the celebrity world…
In 2000, Zac Posen proves his presence in the field of design with a dress for Naomi Campbell, the world-famous top model of the time, receiving full marks from fashion circles. This dress, which was preferred several times among the leading names of the fashion world, including the famous actress Paz De La Huerta, provided Zac Posen with an important career opportunity. Zac Posen, who has no difficulty in establishing a wide circle and important connections, dressed American actress Stella Schnabel and called the actress his muse. Through Ingrid Sischy, Editor-in-Chief of the famous magazine Interview, Posen met his future publicist and event producer Ed Filipowski, who offered to represent him for free.
Zac Posen becomes a brand
In 2001, Zac Posen set up his atelier in the living room of his family home in New York City. In October of the same year, he was selected to present a capsule collection at the New York 2001 New Faces in Fashion Show organized by GenArt. After his first fashion show in 2001, Posen managed to attract the attention of fashion giants such as Yves Carcelle, President of LVMH Fashion Group, Sidney Toledano, CEO of Christian Dior and Domenico De Sole, President of Gucci. Following the success of this presentation, Posen established his design studio in Laight Street Tribeca. In 2002, Posen presented his first ready-to-wear collection, which was criticized. When Hollywood’s Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman wore a Posen-designed dress to the London premiere of one of her movies, the designer received worldwide acclaim. Later that year, Posen made his debut at New York Fashion Week, where Vogue editor and fashion powerhouse Anna Wintour sat in the front row, and received rave reviews at one of the industry’s four major semi-annual events. Posen’s 2004 collection was focused on sportswear and earned him the Perry Ellis Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Swarovski’s award for womenswear. In addition, Posen’s success secured him the financial backing of the American rapper and clothing designer Diddy.
Becomes popular
Following his worldwide popularity with Natalie Portman, Zac Posen has become a favorite of other world celebrities such as Rihanna, Amanda Seyfried, Andy Dick, Kate Winslet, Claire Danes, Cameron Diaz, Dick Clark, Jennifer Lopez, Mischa Barton, Mr. Kool Aid and Beyoncé Knowles. In 2004, high-end fashion brand Sean John made an investment deal with Posen. American actress and fashion designer Ashley Olsen interned with Posen in 2005 while a student at New York University. In April 2008, Posen’s capsule collection Zac Posen for Target, in collaboration with Target, was launched in seventy-five stores in Australia. A preview of the collection was shown at the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival in March. Celebrities such as Glenn Close at the 2012 Academy Awards and Reese Witherspoon and Naomi Watts at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards wore ZaC Posen on the red carpet. Other notable names who wore Posen creations on the red carpet include Uma Thurman at the 2013 Met Ball; Sofia Vergara at the 2014 Golden Globes; Anna Chlumsky at the 2014 Emmy Awards; and Rita Ora at the 2014 AMA Awards. On December 18, 2012, Posen was announced as an official judge on the celebrity fashion design competition Project Runway beginning with the eleventh season and judged until the sixteenth season. In February 2014, Posen partnered with David’s Bridal to offer the affordable bridal line Truly Zac Posen. Also in 2014, he was named Creative Director of Brooks Brothers and tasked with modernizing the company’s signature line of womenswear and accessories. Zac Posen has also collaborated with Delta Air Lines. As of May 2018, Posen’s uniforms are worn by all Delta Air Lines staff, from flight attendants to customer service.
A radical change at Zac Posen
In November 2019, the fashion brand owners of Posen’s company, House of Z and Z Spoke, announced the closure of the brand. In February 2020, Centric Brands confirmed that it had acquired the Zac Posen brand and all related intellectual property previously held by Z Spoke, LLC. As part of the transaction, Centric inherited all existing licenses and collaboration agreements from the predecessor business. Posen will advise on all matters related to the creative and strategic direction, marketing and promotion of Zac Posen branded businesses. Existing Zac Posen brand licenses include bridal, fine jewelry, men’s & women’s eyewear and women’s footwear, as well as cold weather accessories, including women’s handbags, small leather goods and hosiery, which Centric Brands already produces.
Zac Posen Eyewear
In October 2013, luxury apparel and accessories brand Zac Posen and global eyeglasses and sunglasses company Kenmark Eyewear announced a partnership to create a new luxury eyewear collection. The agreement covers the design, production and worldwide distribution of both men’s and women’s sunglasses and prescription eyewear. Kenmark Eyewear and Zac Posen launched their first collection for the Fall/Winter 2014 season. The collection reflected the modern American glamor sensibility and creativity of the Zac Posen brand within Kenmark’s boutique design aesthetic and innovation. As a world-renowned fashion designer with a vision of modern American glamor that combines traditional tailoring techniques with striking innovation, Zac Posen’s eyewear collections reflect his true essence of timeless elegance with a modern sensibility and edge. Zac Posen eyewear collections include both women’s and men’s styles. The women’s collections combine sleek, feminine eye shapes with dramatic gestures and subtle materials to bring out the natural beauty of the female face, while the men’s styles use distinctive, masculine shapes, classic European transparencies and specialized hardware.
February 2023
