Z Spoke

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.

When we heard Zac Posen was launching a collection of dresses for under $200, we had to be there. Last night, we joined the designer (and the crowds of anxious shoppers) at Lord & Taylor to fete Zac Posen's Z Spoke dress collection, a line of 12 dresses designed exclusively for the department store. Before the shopping began, we had a few minutes to catch up with the designer, who filled us in on how he pares down red-carpet designs for everyday wear, and what girl he had in mind while dreaming up the dresses for Lord & Taylor. Inside, we've got a look at the dresses, the event, and our whole interview with the ultratalented Zac Posen. Click on for everything you need to know about his new dress collection.

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>> As far as Zac Posen is concerned, there's no reason his 12-piece Z Spoke collection for Lord & Taylor can't be as sensational as the gowns he creates for the red carpet.

"I don't believe that true trends actually come from high fashion down anymore," Posen said of his capsule collection of dresses, all of which are priced under $200. "I think that if you have the ability to create directly at that price point . . . that's really exciting because then you're addressing a much wider audience. And it makes it more fun."

For Posen, fun means colorful, straightforward dresses created with his core design principles in mind. "They're still flirty. They still have our signature construction in them," he said. "Sometimes we'll take out the lining of some of our couture gowns and even that on its own would just be an amazing dress."

But these dresses aren't just glorified crinolines — they're ways for new consumers to get more familiar with his work. Coco Rocha attended the capsule collection's launch party on Wednesday clad in a blazer from Posen's Target collaboration. She said the Lord & Taylor dresses were a smart move.

"For so long, no one could really relate to him," Rocha said. "It was all about really beautiful gowns and a romantic sort of fairy tale. I think this is appropriate, because now we all — even I! — can have a Zac Posen dress."

>> Posen's signature seaming and femme-fatale detailing get a hit of classic Americana for Fall 2012. The result? Separates, gowns, and dresses that are not only gorgeous, but also totally wearable. The designer has been spending a lot of time developing Z Spoke into a cohesive wardrobe — speaking with customers at the Z Spoke store, expanding the selection of outerwear — and it shows. Now there are boxy cropped jackets, pleated two-tiered frocks, and easy-wearing coats sitting effortlessly amongst the body-con dresses, nipped-in blazers, and ankle-grazing gowns. See the lookbook, modeled by Madisyn Ritland and Crystal Renn — plus, a peek at the accessories — here.

>> Zac Posen riffed on the idea of wardrobe essentials — with a twist — for his Spring 2012 Z Spoke collection. "There's no need for more essentials that are basic," he explains. "These have a bit of fashion to them." To that end, Posen's essentials are dressed-up, playful, and full of the designer's signature feminine detailing: lean-cut trousers come in shiny two-tone faille or tie-dyed lace, shirt dresses in whisper-weight seersucker, and skirts in swinging full flares. There's plenty of wearable whimsy too — a swinging "disco tent dress" in shimmering sequins, a floaty ruched-chiffon neon shift — and lots of lively prints, like an "acid" cheetah in chartreuse and lemon, ditsy florals in abstracted batiks. "This is a wardrobe, and it's nice to be able to mix it up and show the diversity of it," Posen says.

The collection's diversity carries through to accessories as well, with luxe Nappa leather totes and embossed-croc satchels mingling easily with brightly-colored iPad cases and studded clutches — which run from $225 to $695. See all the looks from the Z Spoke Spring 2012 lookbook — modeled by Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Tennessee Thomas, Stephanie LaCava, Yaz Bukey, and Laura Love — and peek all the accessories, here in the slideshow.

>> Easy-to-wear separates in an easy-on-the-eyes palette permeate the Z Spoke Resort 2012 offering. The inky palette and subdued mood that were the hallmark of the Fall 2011 Z Spoke collection have lightened up a bit, giving way to a selection of pieces that hit a slightly more playful note: a cherry red silk anorak with a drawstring peplum-waist; a pale blue wide-leg pantsuit in slubby tweed; and plenty of sweet fit-n-flare frocks in all kinds of chiffon and polka dots. It's a youthful outing for Posen, and one that's perfectly reflected in his choice of lookbook model —  Lindsey Wixson.