IT’S a safe bet that Zac Posen is going to give unadulterated elegance to all that he graces in life. In his atelier this season that started with rounded day suits resting softly on the body and then, in a tactical move that would thereupon be dealt to the rest of the collection, a superbly sensible approach to the creation of womenswear. Confidently feminine and expertly crafted, SS17 showed exactly what Posen has perfected during his reign as one of New York’s tastemakers since the turn of the millennium.
He continued with the tulip-shaped gowns that become the Posen women so wonderfully, adding in informally luxe touches such as padded boleros and strappy sandles for the feet, paired with relaxed tea dresses and shirt dresses.
Though unexpected, hints of hippie-dippie frayed mesh and beading were carried off with unequivocal finesse. These, along with the explosions of flora, boasted a bouquet of freshness that was a pleasant sign of a designer set in his ways, yes, but able to elevate his formula season to season. Final acts were gowned out with all the usual intricacies and constructed to impress.
What was especially touching this time round was Posen’s eye for the details, the byzantine patchwork of petals, the cascade of teardrop embellishments that surpass catching the eye, and the way in which Posen goes about presenting such creations with relative humility that makes them all the more unfeigned pieces of high fashion.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Zac Posen