Zac Posen - An American Designer

Zac Posen is an American born fashion designer. He was raised in a neighborhood in lower Manhattan New York. He is the son of the artist Stephen Posen and his mother was a corporate lawyer Susan Posen. Unlike many others, Posen’s interest in fashion design started early, and as a child he was said to steal yarmulkes from his grandparents' synagogue to make ball dresses for dolls. While he was a child he was a little insecure with his interest in fashion, despite his parent’s constant support. His different taste was a product of his childhood, as he used to search for very unusual materials like seaweed to try and create new outfits for his puppets.

He attended Saint Ann's School which is actually a private school in Brooklyn, New York. While in high school he was able to create the costumes that were worn in plays performed by his classmates. By his sophomore year in Saint Ann's he was able to become an intern with fashion designer Nicole Miller. During his high school career he was also able to enroll in the pre-college program at Parsons the New School for Design. Thus, he was able to have much experience with the fashion industry upfront before he even graduated high school. This helped his success in the fashion industry in many ways because it allowed him to see how the whole process works and he was able to watch successful designers do their work. And using their mistakes and successes he was able to learn about what would be good for him. He graduated from Saint Ann's in 1999. Afterwards, he as mentored by curator Richard Martin at The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art for about 3 years.

Zac Posen was a very intelligent person, he excelled in mathematics. He was also accepted into Brown University, however he decided against going there. At 18, he was accepted into London’s Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design at the University of the Arts London. When he went for his entrance interview, Posen had decided that to try and impress the lady that would be interviewing him he would have ivy trailing from his hair. He had done just that and was accepted into a highly regarded school for arts. While Posen was in London, he learned that there were many people that were attempting to try their luck in fashion. The overall environment was very competitive. The students were able to learn on their own and create gowns from concepts that motivated them. During this time Zac Posen created a gown using only thin leather strips and dress-maker hooks. For this dress was made to try and represent powerful thoughts about women. The gown was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Zac Posen was more widely recognized when chosen to present a capsule collection as part of GenArt's Fresh Faces in Fashion New York 2001. Thru this he was able to receive a grant for $20,000. Just after his first runway show in 2001, Posen was sought after by many top fashion agencies including LVMH, Christian Dior, and Gucci. After the success of his first runway show, he was the recipient for many awards and soon went on to become the favorite for many Hollywood stars including Natalie Portman, Rihanna, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Lopez, Mischa Barton, Beyonce Knowles and many others. He also had many students such as Ashley Olsen intern with him.

Today he designs ready-to-wear clothing as well as accessories and has considered expanding into a men’s collection. Zac Posen has said to have no inspiration; he says that “I don't have a formula, except that I don't believe in playing it safe."