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.
