Zac Posen (formally Zackary E. Posen), is a fashion designer from America. Born in New York and grew up in Manhattan’s neighborhood SoHo, he is the son of a corporate lawyer, Susan and an artist, Posen.
He developed an interest in apparel design from a young age and sneaked into the synagogue of his grandparents to snavel yarmulkes in order to make ballroom gowns for dolls. He studied at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn. During the sophomore year, he was accepted to work as an intern with Nicole Miller. At the age of sixteen, he enrolled in a course at Parsons the New School for Design and completed his schooling in 1999. For the next three years, Zac was mentored by Richard Martin, a curator at The Costume Institute under the umbrella of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. When he turned eighteen years old, Posen enrolled in the female fashion wear degree program at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, a division of University of the Arts London.
In 2000, Posen got his big break after designing a dress for Naomi Campbell. He connected with many fashion insiders, such as Paz de la Huerta (actress), and Stella Schnabel. Via Ingrid Sischy from Interview magazine Posen met Ed Filipowski, his future event manager and publicist.
A year later when he returned to New York, Zac Posen established an atelier in the living room of his parent’s house and received fifteen dollar allowance by them. The same year, he was selected to showcase a capsule collection for Fresh Faces in Fashion New York, an event organized by GenArt. After the runway show, he was invited by titans of the fashion world including Domenico De Sole, CEO and President of Gucci Group; Sidney Toledano, Director and CEO of Christian Dior S.A.; and Yves Carcelle, President of LVMH Fashion Group. Following this mindboggling success, Posen opened a design studio in Manhattan’s neighborhood Tribeca.
Zac Posen’s powerful feminine taste in design has attracted style icons, such as Rihanna, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Mischa Barton, Jennifer Lopez, Amanda Seyfried, Natalie Portman, Beyoncé Knowles, Claire Danes and Glenn Close among others.
Besides the award that Posen has received from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, in 2004 Sean John (high-end fashion label) invested in a deal with Zac. Moreover in 2005, Ashley Olsen interned with the designer. Three years later, he created a fashion range in collaboration with Target, which was released in Australia’s seventy-five stores. A preview of this line was displayed during L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and was counted among the leading catwalks.
Concentrating on his personal life – Zac Posen is a gay and lives in SoHo with his boyfriend Christopher Niquet. The couples own three dogs. Posen is from a Jew family and in 2012 the designer was on number nine of the list that ranked fifty most funny, talented, gorgeous and intelligent Jewish males in the world.
While running his company, he always remembers his idols Florence Ziegfeld, Jim Henson, Walt Disney and Bob Fosse. These names motivate him in order to successfully run his business. Zac has always considered himself as being culturally affluent. It is his passion to dress people and to explore creativity. He doesn’t fall back in experimenting and taking risks as an artist.