Zac Posen

fashion week

Zac Posen Spring 2013

Naomi Campbell opened, Coco Rocha closed, and in between, an all-star model cast including Karolina Kurkova and Crystal Renn took the runway alfresco, showcasing a bevy of Oscar-worthy gowns with Zac Posen's signature corseted bodices and drama-inducing trains — all with a glamorous '40s-inspired tilt.
Zac Posen Spring 2013 | Pictures

Naomi Campbell opened, Coco Rocha closed, and in between, an all-star model cast including Karolina Kurkova and Crystal Renn took the runway alfresco, showcasing a bevy of Oscar-worthy gowns with Zac Posen's signature corseted bodices and drama-inducing trains — all with a glamorous '40s-inspired tilt. The hustle before the show calmed at last as front-rowers like Anna Dello Russo (in a gold fascinator) made their way to their seats and Posen's show began with Etta James playing dreamily across the Lincoln Center Plaza. It wasn't just the music or our surroundings; we were transported entirely with every look — most noticeably to another decade, with vintage, '40s-inspired trumpet silhouettes and skirt suits (and the coiffed waves to match).The romance was palpable from start to finish, beginning with a lineup of flirtier day dresses, all with sweetheart necklines, and culminating in a white-tiered organza ball gown — which made Coco Rocha look more like a blushing bride walking down the aisle than a model on the catwalk.

  • Trends: Peplum, tulle, trumpet silhouettes, sweetheart necklines, and skirt suits.
  • Colors: Navy, white, rose, red, soft blue, nude, and olive.
  • Key Piece: It's nearly impossible to choose favorites, but the rose-embroidered dresses and gowns were particularly lovely.
  • Accessories: Satin ankle-strap pointy-pumps; brooches; jeweled studs, bracelets, and necklaces; cat-eye sunglasses.
  • Who Should Wear It: Posen's model lineup, like Coco Rocha and Crystal Renn, will likely wear this set off the runway, too; we'd love to see it on A-listers like Jennifer Connelly and Penelope Cruz.
fashion week

Z Spoke Zac Posen Spring 2013

Zac Posen's Z Spoke line just keeps getting better and better.
Z Spoke Zac Posen Spring 2013 | Runway

Zac Posen's Z Spoke line just keeps getting better and better. For Spring 2013, the designer looked to classic Hollywood, mixing his signature seaming and feminine detailing with a range of old-school glamour — and the combo worked beautifully. Graphic floral prints decorated fit-and-flare dresses, and cascading ruffles on halter necks lent a '50s bombshell fit (very Marilyn), while the addition of oversize tassels on clutches and cowls draped over open shoulders and backless dresses lent a '30s, Gloria Swanson, Hollywood Boulevard feel.

Of course, it's hard for anything to look bad on Coco Rocha, Posen's longtime pal and Spring 2013's lookbook model. We're betting, however, that even without Rocha's genetic blessings, these pieces — with their sexy shapes and curve-flattering lines — will be plenty lovely on many girls.
Photos: Courtesy of Zac Posen

Celebrity Style

Jessica Biel Makes Green the Sexiest Hue of All

As the Total Recall promo tour makes its way through Europe, the film's starlets, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale, have stepped up their red-carpet styling tenfold.

As the Total Recall promo tour makes its way through Europe, the film's starlets, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale, have stepped up their red-carpet styling tenfold. While the duo's latest London premiere pit stop was nothing short of all-out glamorous, it was Jessica's afterparty ensemble that left a lasting impression. Her formfitting green sheath elevated the verdant color to sultry new heights and to add to the cocktail-dress drama, she added leopard-print pumps and a stark white clutch. Ready to catch up on the rest of these ladies' Total Recall looks? So far, we've seen everything from colorblocked H&M and Diane von Furstenberg to sequined Donna Karan and ultratextured Giambattista Valli Couture. Just click through to see every outfit now.

Zac Posen

Erin O'Connor Sets Up Her Modeling Comeback

Erin O'Connor's star is on the rise once more.



Erin O'Connor's star is on the rise once more. The 34-year-old British model had been snaking in and out of fashion for 15 years before making strong showings in Zac Posen's Resort 2013 lookbook this June and again in Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall 2012 Couture show this July, and now she's here to stay.

"I'm recarving my career yet again, because aside from missing the people I've built relationships with in fashion, I miss posing the most," O'Connor said in an interview with Style.com. "I love the physicality of my job and how my mind and body are most happy when I'm expressing and moving. My face was always secondary to body alignment and the dynamism of making a moment come alive."

Does that mean she'll be creating memorable moments during Fashion Weeks in New York and abroad next month? If so, then she's already well primed for the runway. Gaultier reportedly assigned each of the models in his Couture show a famous woman of the past — like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn — to impersonate on the runway. But he told O'Connor, "You're just going to play yourself. You are already an absolute diva."

Photo courtesy of Zac Posen

Link Time

The Man Repeller's Wedding Dress, Cat Marnell's XOJane Departure, and Lady Gaga's Fragrance

Everything you need to know now — here, in our daily news roundup.



Everything you need to know now — here, in our daily news roundup.

  • Cat Marnell has quit her job as beauty and health director of XO Jane, reportedly over her refusal to stop using drugs. "I couldn’t spend another summer meeting deadlines behind a computer at night when I could be on the rooftop of Le Bain looking for shooting stars and smoking angel dust with my friends and writing a book, which is what I'm doing next," Marnell said. [Page Six]

  • Leandra Medine, also known as The Man Repeller, married in a private ceremony in New York on Thursday. While Medine had floated the possibility of wearing custom Prabal Gurung, she instead walked down the aisle in off-the-rack Marchesa. "Prabal and I were going to try and work together but it just didn't work out," she said. [Racked]

  • Lady Gaga's upcoming fragrance Fame is billed as the first black-colored eau de parfum. It becomes clear when the wearer sprays it on, and it contains notes of honey, apricots nectar, and tiger orchids. The scent will debut around the same time as Gaga's September issue cover of Vogue. [The Cut]

  • President Obama caused a stir in New York City's West Village Thursday night when he attended the fundraising dinner hosted by Anna Wintour at Sarah Jessica Parker's home. While guests — including Michael Kors — broke bread inside Parker's brownstone, some neighbors were prevented from going into their apartments or relaxing on their rooftops. [Daily Intel]

  • Christian Louboutin would like to make one thing clear: even though a French judge has allowed Zara to sell a red-soled shoe that infringes on Louboutin's trademark on red soles, the company definitely "continues to own valid and enforceable trademark rights in its Red Sole Trademark, including in France itself as well as throughout the world." The company is still battling a red-sole trademark case against Yves Saint Laurent in the United States. [The Daily Telegraph]

  • Zac Posen — who has quickly amassed upward of 90,000 followers on Twitter — says that while he doesn't type his own tweets, he does directly oversee the woman on his staff who does. "I tell her exactly what to say — every word," Posen said. [WWD]

  • With a week left to go in the campaign to fund his documentary Advanced Style — which, like the blog, depicts stylish women aged 60 to 100 — Ari Seth Cohen has already surpassed his goal of raising $35,000. [On the Runway]

  • Singer Iggy Azalea has signed with Wilhelmina International, the same model and celebrity management agency that has counted Iman, Coco Rocha, Carol Alt, and Theodora Richards among its talent over the years. [Rap Up]

  • Daisy Lowe says her most memorable modeling moment so far was "mud-wrestling for the Pirelli calendar in the middle of the street in Porto Seguro, Brazil." The most embarrassing? "Getting rushed to the hospital after my hair was dyed blue for a job!" [Vogue]

Photo: Tom Munro, Elle January 2010

Zac Posen

Zac Posen Resort 2013

Though a recent trip to Singapore — and the elegantly attired women who reside there — served as inspiration for Zac Posen's Resort 2013 collection, the designer also looked closer to home this season, focusing on what he called "the American heritage of dressing and dressmaking."
Zac Posen Resort 2013 Pictures

Though a recent trip to Singapore — and the elegantly attired women who reside there — served as inspiration for Zac Posen's Resort 2013 collection, the designer also looked closer to home this season, focusing on what he called "the American heritage of dressing and dressmaking." To that end, there was a refined opulence at play. All the Posen signatures — curve-defining suits, asymmetrical fishtail gowns, pintucked blouses — were present, of course, but a crisp palette of ivory, plum, wine, and ink let the designer's flair for dramatic tailoring and skillful seaming really shine through. "Structure is juxtaposed with fluidity, and incorporative construction becomes the decorative element," Posen explained.

Zac Posen

Z Spoke Zac Posen Resort 2013

For Z Spoke's Resort 2013 collection, Zac Posen focused on creating eveningwear that's more affordable than what he offers in his main collection.
Z Spoke Zac Posen Resort 2013

For Z Spoke's Resort 2013 collection, Zac Posen focused on creating eveningwear that's more affordable than what he offers in his main collection. "I wanted my girl to get the man and not go broke on the way there," Posen said of a new capsule collection of 25 dresses priced around $1,000 each. Those dresses — like the rest of the Resort line — focus on elevating cost-effective fabrics with Posen's signature details. The evening gowns, in bonded lace and stretch duchesse satin, feature the designer's telltale seaming. Daywear ranges from feminine suits (a white shawl collar jacket paired with wide-legged pants, for instance) to flirty skirts and tops with bows that tie at the neck. The dog lover among Posen's customers will appreciate perforated leather bags primed for carrying the family pooch.

Zac Posen

Busy Philipps, Rachel Zoe, and More of the Best Quotes From the CFDA Awards

The CFDA Awards went down in NYC last night, and we were on the red carpet chatting with fashion's biggest names as they filed into Avery Fisher Hall.

The CFDA Awards went down in NYC last night, and we were on the red carpet chatting with fashion's biggest names as they filed into Avery Fisher Hall. Major honors went to designers like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, as well as Joseph Altuzarra — check out the full list of 2012 CFDA winners. Johnny Depp wasn't able to pick up his fashion icon prize in person, but many spoke about Johnny's iconic style on the press line. We caught up with Busy Philipps, Rachel Zoe, Doutzen Kroes, and more. Click through to see the top quotes from the CFDAs.

— Additional reporting from Christina Perez

Red Carpet

Met Gala: Amber Heard

Who better to take Zac Posen — and his siren-worthy gown — to the Met Gala than bombshell Amber Heard?

Who better to take Zac Posen — and his siren-worthy gown — to the Met Gala than bombshell Amber Heard? Amber's red-carpet arrival had all the makings of a major glamazon moment, thanks to the sexiest curve-hugging silhouette, complete with a bustier, bustle, and train. A side-swept updo gave the look the perfect kind of effortlessly sexy finish, while her decadent drop earrings added just the right dose of glam. Do you love Amber's look?

met gala

Zac Posen on His First Trip to the Met Gala

Zac Posen went to the Met Gala long before he made his name as a designer.

Zac Posen went to the Met Gala long before he made his name as a designer. In fact, Posen was a teenage intern for the Costume Institute the first time he attended fashion's biggest party.

"The Met Ball was sort of my first experience as an intern, when I was 16, of seeing what a ball would look like. I was an intern there, so I bought my staff ticket for the Gianni Versace exhibition. I saved up my money for like, three weeks to buy my $50 ticket. It was a really dreamy experience. So when I then became a designer and started going, it just has a very personal significance. I try to make it the most fun possible for me and my date and anybody that's around me. And it's an amazing cause and has an incredible history around it."

Posen also told us about what it was like to see Diana Vreeland's old office at the Met.

"When I was there, Diana Vreeland's office was still intact, and that's where I did my interview. It's no longer there. It was changed to a video archive while I was there, but it was an amazing experience to see all the stuffed peacocks and the Maria Callas photos on the wall. It was just like a closed time capsule, and it all had sort of a '60s vibe to it. All the clothing was archived between Venetian blinds. It was very cold. You have all the Christy Turlington mannequins and tons of vertical filing. And that was where I sort of got the fashion bug — for the history."

Photo: Zac Posen with Christina Ricci at the Met Gala in 2011.