At the beginning of his 22-piece pre-fall presentation, Zac Posen announced his theme: "poodle ballet." It was less strange than it sounds. The flaring, short silhouette of a little black dress was a key look, as were nubby, woolly textures like the Mongolian lamb that edged the collars and hems of cavalry twill jackets or the bouclé used for a matching sweatshirt and skirt. The latter combo was billed as a casual take on the suit, and ease was the unifying principle here—something, Posen said, he s also working on for his Fall collection. But that s not what the designer s built his business on, so there were plenty of evening options as well. These ranged from a pink satin strapless minidress all wrapped up like a bow to a flaring gown in wine red Lurex not unlike the resort number that Beyoncé poured herself into for Sunday night s inaugural Movies Rock.
