Much has been made about Zac Posen moving his show from Thursday night to Monday morning—at 9 a.m., no less—and leaving Bryant Park's big tent for the modest-in-comparison Altman Building. Whether it was because of financial pressures or because, as the designer explained, the smaller venue was better suited to the collection, it worked. As they say, change will do you good: Posen's clothes felt more youthful and looked like a lot more fun to wear than they have lately, starting with the opening series of little color-blocked dresses, some with sassy cutouts. Pieced together from shades of blue, the best of the bunch dipped low in front and came with a flirty flared skirt. He called it a twist dress, and you could picture some pretty young thing kicking up her heels in it on a crowded dance floor.
Posen remains a social guy at heart. There were a few suits, and while they didn't exactly look like afterthoughts, party clothes are where he really shines. For Spring, he played with prints both small-scale—on a sexy, asymmetric-neckline cocktail dress in a tiny pebble pattern, for example—and large (a tiger designed by downtown artist Rosson Crow looked ready to pounce off a man-killer of a halter gown). Here's one advantage to the 9 a.m. time slot Posen may not have envisioned: Now his social butterflies have time enough to call something in for tonight's round of parties.
