One Day You’re In and the Next Day, You’re Zac Posen
PHOTO: @ZACPOSEN INSTAGRAM
Once upon a time, Zac Posen reigned supreme. Just look at the Met Gala.
Claire Danes dazzled at the 2016 Met Gala with her Cinderella-inspired Zac Posen gown, which was embedded with fiber optics so it could light up in the dark. Departing from the Western-centric garments at the 2018 “Heavenly Bodies” Met Gala, Posen shrouded model Imaan Hammam in a dramatic black overcoat meant to honor all religions. He won best camper at last year’s “Notes on Fashion” event by partnering with General Electric to design five 3-D printed dresses. For six years, Posen has made his mark on the first Monday in May.
But this year, Posen may be forced to give up his crown. On November 1, House of Z released a statement saying they, “determined to cease business operations and carry out an orderly disposition of its assets.” That same morning, a New York judge ruled that the Authentic Brands Group would buy Barneys New York, a retailer which sells Zac Posen’s designs, for $271.4 million. In an interview with Vogue, Posen blamed the changing fashion landscape for House of Z’s closure.
“I’ve been personally trying to find the right partner for some time,” Posen said. “But time ran out, and the difficult climate out there… it’s not an easy time in our industry.”
Posen is not the only fashion dynamo to recognize the industry’s rapid evolution. On November 7 — just one week after House of Z’s announcement — the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute revealed that the theme of its spring 2020 exhibition and gala will be “About Time: Fashion and Duration.” The theme is borrowed from Virginia Woolf’s novel “Orlando,” and aims to reimagine fashion history.
“What I like about Woolf’s version of time is the idea of a continuum,” Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, said. “There’s no beginning, middle, or end. It’s one big fat middle. I always felt the same about fashion. Fashion is the present.”
Last year’s “Notes on Camp” embodied a desire to escape the mundane and frightening realities of everyday life. Lady Gaga underwent four outfit changes on the red carpet, graduating from a voluminous hot pink Brandon Maxwell creation to sexy black lingerie. Six golden-clad men carried Billy Porter into the event, while Jared Leto carried his head in his hands. The red carpet was fun, it was frivolous and it was totally impractical.
But in the past year, the fashion tides have turned away from camp. The most surprising theme of New York Fashion Week wasn’t elaborate maxi dresses or towering platform sandals; rather, the Fall 2019 collections were refreshingly wearable and timeless. Staud unveiled neon paisley dresses and satin trousers. Mansur Gauvriel debuted dreamlike chunky knits. Rosie Assoulin’s models donned white button-downs. Runways were colorful, contemporary and yes, practical.
Meanwhile, Zac Posen’s spring 2020 collection was designed for New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala and featured organza poof-balls, voluminous sleeves and never-ending trains. The collection did not walk a runway (Posen hasn’t shown since 2017). Rather, Winnie Harlow modeled the creations for photographer Steven Sebring. The clothes themselves are beautiful, multi-dimensional and oh-so-Posen, but they are also miles removed from a customer base which seems to be walking (sprinting) toward wearable clickbait.
Together, House of Z’s closing and The Met’s announcement suggest that fashion can no longer be fantasy — at least, not in the way it has been.
It’s likely that the all-knowing Anna Wintour predicted Posen’s demise while planning the Gala. After all, she has near-total power over the guest list and often influences who designers dress for the occasion. The question now is: who does she expect to join him?
One contender is Marchesa, which is now led solely by Georgina Chapman following the departure of co-founder Keren Craig last summer. Chapman has built her career on designing high-end luxurious gowns for socialites and celebrities, but since her husband Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment in 2016, her Hollywood customer base has dwindled. Marchesa did not dress any celebrities for the 2018 Golden Globes, and Constance Wu was the only actress to don Marchesa at last year’s Met Gala.
The label’s 2020 collection drew inspiration from the 1920s and relied heavily on satin draping, earth tones and the brand’s signature floral appliques. But Marchesa can’t rely on Chapman’s ability to design a gorgeous gown forever. Like Posen, Chapman is a designer who must reckon with the fact that, as Eric Wilson writes, not every customer wants to be part of “fashion’s grand illusion.”
By building their brands around celebrities in impossibly beautiful gowns, Posen and Chapman have let their everyday consumers — those who want accessible fantasies — fall through the cracks. While their desire to cling to fashion’s past is admirable, it’s not accessible.
The 2020 Met Gala theme represents the fact that not only has fashion changed, but it is continuing to change. No longer is fashion confined to the runways, the department stores or the Met Gala red carpet. Today, fashion is in the streets, it’s on the beach, online and, apparently, in Woolf’s writings. The designers who find that fashion, and find it fast, might withstand the test of time.
