To provide a backdrop for his fall collection, titled Blixen (as in reindeer), Zac Posen carpeted the floor of a Bryant Park tent with black Astroturf and installed a grove of silvery tree sculptures. Of course, Posen’s audience is its own decor (this season it included Claire Danes and the artist Chuck Close), but the designer is a born showman and he loves to set a stage.
He’s also, five seasons into his career, developing real range, not to mention an inventive sense of color and solid craftsmanship. His signatures—the neckline that arches chinward and then plunges deep into the décolleté, the hourglass fit, the mitered stripes—were all present and accounted for. But there were new developments, too: Posen worked in a lot of jersey and knits, which softened his edges and produced some lovely looks, like a pink cashmere dress or a charming black knit T-shirt, trimmed in blue ribbon and worn with a simple black pencil skirt. Even the pieced geometric dresses in contrasting hues fell on the wearable side of artsy.
The designer’s evening showstoppers included a figure-hugging polychrome lace sheath, a fluttery pin-tucked organza dress, and a dreamy blue organza ball gown. It may have all been based on fantasy, but Posen produced a real-life wardrobe that goes from morning coffee straight through to the last nightcap.
