There were tourists lined up on the steps of the Plaza tonight. It s not clear if they were waiting for a glimpse of Katharine McPhee, who sat front row in the hotel s Terrace Room for Zac Posen s show, or for the designer himself. Now that he s on Project Runway, Posen s becoming a celebrity in his own right. To capitalize on it, he s launched a new contemporary brand priced between Z Spoke and his signature collection that incorporates his name, Zac Zac Posen, not unlike Michael Michael Kors.
No confusing his Fall show with a diffusion line. Posen focused less on evening gowns with his famous anatomical seaming than he usually does on the runway, favoring evening separates and a surprising number of pants, but the clothes were nonetheless loaded up with detail: soutache embroidery, origami draping and folds. Some of the familiar complaints lobbed in Posen s direction applied: Here and there the cuts looked stuffy and old. But he also had some good ideas, in particular a fitted peplum top in rust-colored duchesse satin that zipped in the back, taking the place of a jacket, and other versions of the same thing in stretch felt or velvet.
Posen has been enjoying an uptick in red carpet credits lately. It s too soon to say if it s related to Project Runway, but there were a handful of showstopping gowns here—a strapless bustier number in lapis, bias-cut orchid-colored chiffon, and most of all, a citrine stretch duchesse style with gold soutache embroidery—that won t do anything to slow down his winning streak.
