Zac Posen Women's Fashion Brand

The Zac Posen brand presents handbags, shoes, eyewear, and fashion - four words of range that frame this whole record: handbags, shoes, eyewear, and fashion itself. Zachary E. "Zac" Posen is an American fashion designer, and his story runs from a dress made in 2000 to the shoe collection launched in December 2016.

Zac Posen launched his eponymous collection in 2001, with a vision for modern American glamour that married couture technique with striking innovation. That sentence is the brand's own summary - modern American glamour, couture technique, striking innovation - and the launch links onward to our guide to what an eponymous collection is. Raised in New York, Zac began his design training early, and he attended London's Central Saint Martins University in the womenswear degree program, the training ground the record names before the career itself begins.

2000 to 2002: A Dress for Naomi Campbell, a Living-Room Atelier, and the First Runway Shows

In 2000, Posen received a prominent career opportunity after a dress he made for Naomi Campbell changed hands several times among several fashion insiders - a single dress, a named supermodel, and a chain of insiders passing it along: the record's account of how an unknown designer's work first travelled. Naomi Campbell's name links onward to her record on this site, as does the pointer to the Zac Posen designer record.

Upon returning to New York in 2001, Posen set up an atelier in his parents' living room, while they gave him a USD$15 allowance - a living room for a studio and fifteen dollars for support, the most human detail in the whole profile. In October of the same year, he was chosen to present a capsule collection as part of GenArt's Fresh Faces in Fashion New York 2001, and he received a grant for $20,000. After his first runway show in 2001, Posen was courted by fashion titans Yves Carcelle, president of LVMH Fashion Group; Sidney Toledano, CEO and director of Christian Dior S.A.; and Domenico De Sole, president and CEO of Gucci Group NV - three named executives from three named fashion groups - a measure of how quickly the industry noticed.

In February 2002, he debuted his ready-to-wear collection in New York City. The presentation captured the attention of key fashion editors and retailers, signaling the presence of a new force within international fashion. Following the success of this presentation, Posen established his design studio in Tribeca. Since this date, Zac Posen has remained committed to his vision of artfully crafted, innovative ready-to-wear for women worldwide, and his strong, feminine aesthetic has become a favorite of style leaders - artfully crafted, innovative, strong and feminine: the four qualities this record consistently claims for the work.

Investors, Red Carpets, a Second Line and Shoes: 2004 to 2016

In 2004, high-end urban fashion brand Sean John made an investment deal with Posen - the record's one investor entry, a named brand taking a stake two years after the ready-to-wear debut. The red-carpet record follows: at the 2012 Academy Awards, Glenn Close wore a Posen gown on the red carpet, as did both Reese Witherspoon and Naomi Watts at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards - three actresses, two ceremonies and two years, the complete awards list, with no appearances added beyond those named.

In 2013 Zac Posen created his second line ZAC Zac Posen sold by the biggest retailers of New York such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue - a second line under a doubled name, placed with the biggest retailers of New York, two of which are named. In December 2016, Zac Posen launched his shoe collection with the Prefall 2017 collection - shoes arriving as their own dated launch, which completes the range the profile opened with: handbags, shoes, eyewear, and fashion, each part of it now accounted for in the brand's own timeline.

Honours: The 2004 Perry Ellis Award and 2015 Designer of the Year

In 2004, he was awarded one of fashion's most prestigious honors, Swarovski's The Perry Ellis Award for Women's wear by the CFDA - one of fashion's most prestigious honors, sponsored by Swarovski, named for Perry Ellis, given by the CFDA, and specifically for womenswear. In 2015, Zac Posen was also awarded Designer of the Year by Women's Wear Daily and Variety Magazine - two publications, one shared honour, eleven years after the first.

Read as a buying guide, this record tells a shopper what a Zac Posen piece is meant to be: artfully crafted, innovative ready-to-wear in a strong, feminine aesthetic, made under a vision of modern American glamour that married couture technique with striking innovation. Judge a gown, a handbag, a pair of shoes or a piece of eyewear from this house against those stated terms - the craft, the glamour, the innovation - because they are the terms the brand itself sets. The designer, the dates, the awards, the retailers and the red carpets above are the whole record.

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