Zac Posen
Zac Posen (1980 - )
Zac Posen was born in New York on October 24, 1980 to parents Stephen Posen, a painter, and Susan Posen, a corporate lawyer. Posen was raised in Manhattan’s trendy Soho neighborhood. He studied in the private school St. Ann’s for the Arts in Brooklyn Heights. At the age of sixteen Posen enrolled in the Parson’s School for Design pre-college program to study pattern-design.
In 1999, at eighteen, Posen moved to London to study at the Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, where he did a BA course in Womenswear. In 2001, Posen made a dress which was mentioned in an article in thesection “Fashions of the Times” of the New York Times Magazine. The article generated a lot of publicity for Posen, as well as another of his designs a leather dress that was featured in Central St. Martin’s exhibition of Victorian undergarments. The leather dress was also chosen to appear in the London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and eventually became part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Posen returned to New York and opened a small store. By late 2001, Posen had established his own label as well as his company called “Outspoke.” His family, father, mother, and sister contribute to the running of his fashion house. His mother Susan was CEO but has recently stepped down, and serves as Chairman. Susan relinquished her CEO duties at Posen to Susan Davidson, who is also CEO of Scoop NYC. His Sister Alexandra is creative director of Outspoke LLC.
In December of 2001, Posen’s dresses were being sold by the high-end Manhattan retailer Henri Bend. Over the past eight years his company grew to become a global luxury brand. Posen’s collections feature day wear, suiting and evening wear, designed for sophisticated, feminine, strong women of every age. His designs are inspired by Vionnet’s bias cut dresses that celebrate the body, juxtaposing this soft caressing style with a more structured one that creates a somewhat moving sculpture for strong, practical women. He likes to infuse his women’s collections with a glamorous 1940s Hollywood design. Today Posen designs ready-to-wear as well as accessories and has considered expanding into a men’s collection.
Posen launched his first runway show on February 2002 during Fashion Week. He got great reviews from the fashion press and also procured many new clients. Actress Natalie Portman a close personal friend of Posen’s brought attention to his work by being one of the first celebrities to wear his designs. His Spring 2002 show at Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion unequivocally landed Posen on the map.
Posen’s designs have also been seen on other well known actresses such as Demi Moore, Claire Danes, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lucy Liu, Naomi Campbell, Cameron Diaz, Mischa Barton, Jennifer Lopez, and Liv Tyler, among others. In 2004, Diddy of Sean John Clothing formed a joint venture with Zac Posen, making an undisclosed long-term investment in his holding company, “Outspoke.”
Posen is as much an entrepreneur as a design success. By 2005 Posen’s designs were sold in many major high-end stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, and Bloomingdale’s. In 2006, noted fashion historian Didier Ludot granted him the honor of displaying his designs at the Palais Royal for “Fashion Week” in Paris, France. Posen’s designs are frequently featured in magazines such as “Vogue” and “Elle.” In 2008, due to the economic instability of the times, his business suffered a double-digit drop in sales. Posen’s response to the tough times was to tighten the company’s finances and create a new label “Z Spoke;” a less expensive line for Saks Fifth Avenue; as well as an affordable collection for Target.
Today the House of Z, sells Posen’s lines to department stores such as Barneys, Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Marshall Field’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harvey Nichols, Holt Renfrew, Vakko, and Neiman Marcus, as well as to select specialty apparel shops in the United States and more than forty other countries around the world.
Zac Posen is today a global luxury lifestyle brand presenting four ready-to-wear, and one fur collection per year.
