Zac posen by Rene Ricard: 21 And getting the critics all worked up

Interview, May, 2002 by Rene Ricard

The young hero who goes into the world and returns home with his fortune made has a sister legend that details an even more arduous quest: The youth who slays the dragon of his hometown. Zac Posen is that rarest of all things: He was born and actually grew up in Manhattan where we like nothing better than to see one of our local kids hit it big; everybody wants to pitch in and see it happen, to participate in the legend. This enthusiasm was palpable in the house during his first major runway presentation at the New York Fall/Winter 2002 ready-to-wear collections.

Unlike most budding designers, Zac Posen didn't have to dress up dolls when he was a kid--he had the Schnabel sisters, Lola and Stella. He dressed his schoolmates throughout high school. In fact, Zac has had a clear view of his destiny for a long while. To conform to the ethic of full disclosure, let me state right here that I've known Zac since he was 15. The 15-year-old Zac differed almost not at all from Zac at 21. There was never any doubt about what he was going to be.

Now at an age when one would expect him to be someone's assistant or protege, he is uniquely his own creation and doesn't dangle from the edge of anyone else's myth. Most young designers usually have a small list of idols they would like to meet or work with. This has been almost totally absent from Zac. The one exception: Zac had a fantasy of apprenticing himself to Azzedine Alaia. But caught up as he is now in his own work, this is definitely not to be. Furthermore, he's sensibly taking his pals along with him, providing show-stopping moments when Paz de Ia Huerta, Jade Malle or Jemima Kirke appear on the runway.

Not to say that he came out full-blown from the head of Charles James. He was an intern in the Costume Institute at the Met and studied pattern making at Parsons, etc. For college, he went to Central St. Martins in London, where he had a considerable success. In fact, Isabella Blow was a notable presence in the front row at his show; for a kid who studied in London, this is pretty good. A garment was accepted into the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum-a dress made of about a hundred strips of leather edged with hooks and eyes that can be reconfigured as wanted, I suppose, if you wanted to. From the beginning Zac's dresses have been characterized by elaborate piecing, gussets and darts that cause unexpected movement in the clothes.

The details in his clothes that take them out of the ready-to-wear category straight into haute couture must be photographed in closeup to be detected. One black top, for example, is made up of knife pleats like a man's dress shirt. Men's evening wear is a constant in the collection. Sophie DahI's swallowtail coatdress has become, perhaps, the most widely reproduced dress from the show. Posen's "follow me" fishtail skirts are pretty much a signature by now. But the greatest thing about his clothes is how they look so good on such different body types, including small, zaftig women.

His show during fashion week this February was widely heralded and paid off. He showed 32 "looks" on some of the greatest showgirls, including Karen Elson and Erin O'Connor, and on his stock group of friends. The show was styled by Stella Schnabel, with 32 pairs of Manolos, and with music by John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Hair by Bok-Hee. Makeup by ltsuki and the M*A*C Pro Team. And as the press was quick to notice, the audience turnout was the most impressive of fashion week.

A couple of days after his extraordinary success, we catch up with Zac Posen at the SoHo loft where he grew up and that now serves as his workroom. Buyers are feverishly placing orders and I try to get him alone for a minute in this strong blast of zeitgeist.

RENE RICARD: Zac, your show was so extraordinarily hyped in advance, you know, by the press. How much did your press agent have to do with that?

ZAC POSEN: I was working excruciatingly hard on getting my collection ready. The press had been building for a few weeks by itself.

RR: Wait, how many articles were written in the New York press before the show?

ZP: I wasn't counting. I was making clothes.

RR: But Zac, how many times were you in The New York Times?

ZP: You're persistent.

RR: On the very day of your show, Guy Trebay said that it was the most anticipated of the season.

ZP: Yes, that was a very important article to me because he reinforced my ideas about body image.

RR: So then, what about the review the day after the show, in the same paper, that was a complete slam?

ZP: [both laugh] I was pretty honored. The rest of the press that came in that day was over-the-top.

RR: Who else got slammed on their first time out?

ZP: Who cares? The most important thing is the quality of the clothes-the design, the level of production, really, the way they make women feel.

RR: But the Times came through for you yesterday with faint praise.

ZP: Yeah, she [the same writer] described "a growing pack of new talent" including me. She said we gave a much-needed boost to the New York shows. There'll be more.