Zac Posen is coming up on his tenth anniversary in business. His first decade as a designer has been full of highs and lows, but he s definitely on the upswing after a Spring collection that marked his return to New York fashion week after a year-long decampment in Paris. Pre-fall finds him in continued good form, making the most of his gifts as a dressmaker. On the simpler side: a white wool crepe sheath with anatomical seaming designed to diminish your waist, and a little black dress with bold shoulders that have the same slimming effect on your mid-section.
On his mood board were Lee Radziwill (now) and Jackie O. (then), along with a host of other images pointing to his current obsession with chinoiserie and the idea of creating European couture shapes out of Eastern fabrics. That meant that the collection s less simple pieces were quite ornate indeed. Among the highlights: a fits-like-a-glove olive green bustier dress with colorful floral silk embroidery, a to-the-floor stretch velvet backless column with matching shoulder-length gloves to match, and a China-red bow-front blouse worn with a ball skirt in claret (evening separates were a request from his retailers). A couple of the grander gowns would require your own footmen, but Posen made up for those potential excesses with the welcome return of a few of the bias-cut dresses he did back in the day.
