Zac Posen

Sequins, old-fashioned glamour, creativity -- Zac Posen, the darling of New York, bubbles with energy and continues to seduce the stars who have made him into their little Mozart.

It is rare for a 21-year-old designer to show in New York, and much more so to win over all the critics. Yet this was the case for the young Zac Posen who, having seduced the "people" and the influential fashion editors in chief, e.g. Anna Wintour, has since shown that he is in it for the long run. Now, it has been almost seven years since the young New York jet setter prodigy has become the leader of the new generation of designers, a worthy descendant of Marc Jacobs.

Posen was born in Soho, the bohemian-chic New York neighborhood. Since the 1960s, this neighborhood has belonged to the artistically inclined, and former factories and warehouses were converted into lofts. It was in one of these avant-garde, posh lofts that Posen and his sisters grew up under the attentive eye of their parents.

Posen's parents greatly influenced him. His mother was a lawyer and his father a painter, and they left their children free to follow their inspirations. When Posen began to transform everything he could reach (especially seaweed and kippas lifted from the synagogue) into outfits for his sisters' dolls, his parents left him to continue.

They were even enthusiastic about their young son's creativity. His sometimes-unusual interests hardly worried them, which was not the case for Posen himself, who preferred to make dresses rather than play football. He worried about not fitting in with his classmates; however, being supported by his family, he was able to ignore these differences and continued to create.

He entered into Sainte-Anne's, a school in Brooklyn that combined art classes with traditional academic curriculum. His creativity spread beyond the walls of his classroom - he even customized his own clothes and refused to wear anything that did not first pass through his sewing machine.

Posen excelled in artistic subjects, but suffered from dyslexia which kept him from getting As and passing his exams. However, his reading handicap led him to befriend a classmate, Lola Schnabel, the daughter of the famous painter, Julian Schnabel, who was also dyslexic. The two become close friends and at 15, Posen designed a dress for her younger sister for a party. She was photographed in it during the event and the dress received its 15 minutes of fame.

At the same time, he became an apprentice at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art de New York where he was introduced to the work of Madeleine Vionnet and her techniques in antique draping and the use of bias to show off a woman's curves. This marked him for life and was visible in his later creations. He also attended evening classes at the Parson's School of Design in New York, and then worked for the designer Nicole Miller. The first piece that he designed in Miller's studios was chosen to be part of the collection.

In 1999, when he was only 19, he was offered an assistant's position at Tocca, a young, promising U.S. label. He then found himself faced with the possibility of attending the Saint Martins School in London. If Sainte Anne was known for giving their students freedom to follow their inspirations, this was nothing next to the Saint Martins School where the order of the day was to develop at any price the personal universe of each student. He chose London, and it was easily predictable that the young Posen would find his place there and flourish beyond all expectations.

Nevertheless, life in London was expensive and all the students were obliged to have a well-paying job. For Posen it was out of the question to apply for a pizza boy when he held gold in his hands, which is why he offered to custom make dresses. His talent captivated his clients and his name began to circulate around town.

Soon, what was meant to happen, happened. One of his creations was seen on a young actress, Paz de la Huerta, and a journalist praised it, describing it as an outfit straight out of a Toulouse Lautrec painting, deserving the title of dress of the year. This article appeared in the "Fashion of the Times" and also described the enthusiastic reactions and envy that every Zac Posen dress inspired. The press article, which coincided with an exhibit of one of his pieces at the Victoria and Albert Museum, multiplied the Posen buzz.

However, the young stylist had to return to the U.S. for financial reasons and moved in with his parents. In 2001, he created his own brand and opened his company, "Outspoken," directed by his mother. In 2002, at 21 years old, he put on his first show and his ultra-feminine silhouettes seduced the fashion world and the press took up his praise.

Posen's talent was largely responsible in his flash ascension to glory, but his jet set contacts from his adolescence, thanks to his parents and to Lola Schnabel also played a role. He was quickly offered the possibility to dress princesses and famous young ladies, even before he had set up shop, which gave him enormous visibility and aura.

Natalie Portman wore a Zac Posen in 2001 for the Star Wars premiere, which did more than boost his career. She has since become his muse and is often seen on his arm. She was known to say that Zac Posen designs know how to be elegant and classic, all the while targeting the younger generation.

Posen showed during the 2002 New York Fashion Week, and the room was filled with stars and buyers. His timeless creations, inspired simultaneously by Yves Saint Laurent and Vionnet, manifested in glamorous sheath dresses as well as goddess gowns were quickly reserved by Bloomingdale's, the equivalent of receiving a title from the highest court of fashion.

Posen's career was definitely launched. His style, luxurious, modern and classic at the same time, enchanted the jet set as well as the Americans. His dresses became the delicacy of the fashion editors, the must-have of the fashionistas, and the high point of the New York shows. Women were not the only ones to fall victim to the charms of his dresses - he himself tried them on to know how it feels to wear them.

In 2004, he took his first steps in sportswear, offering a fall/winter show that was his most complete and recognized by the critics as the best show of the season, all brands included. The CFDA awarded him Best Designer.

The same year, Posen found his dream investor: Sean Combs (who owns his own label) bought 50% of Outspoken and offered Posen the possibility of benefiting from his distribution network. Outspoken acquired a different dimension - Posen designed a limited edition for 7 For All Mankind and the big luxury chains such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Marcus and Bloomingdale's pounced on his collections.

In 2005, Cartier become associated with the brand, Naomi Cambell showed for him, Anna Wintour contemplated, and Zac Posen took off. His show, between Masaï and pop art, was a clear winner: he who might have been just a shooting star showed himself to have the "what it takes" to become the next Ralph Lauren or Donna Karan. His talent has been confirmed, and his goddess gowns have made place for a new, more mature and refined wardrobe. From one season to the next, Posen refuses to follow trends and creates golden-days elegance.