Zac Posen (born
24 October 1980) is an American
fashion designer.
Early life
Posen was raised in the
SoHo neighborhood of lower
Manhattan, the
Jewish son of artist Stephen Posen and corporate lawyer Susan Posen. His interest in fashion design started early, and as a child he would steal
yarmulkes from his grandparents' synagogue to make ball dresses for dolls. He attended
Saint Ann's School, a private school in
Brooklyn, and in his sophomore year interned with fashion designer
Nicole Miller.
[Spiegel, Richard (27 January 2002), "Zac to the future". Lucire. Retrieved on 2007-01-08] At age 16 he enrolled in the pre-college program at
Parsons The New School for Design.
[Tauber, Michelle; Paley, Rebecca (2003-09-15), "SEW COOL". People. 60 (11):153-154] He graduated from Saint Ann's in 1999. For three years Posen was mentored by curator Richard Martin at
The Costume Institute of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. At 18, he was accepted into the womenswear degree program at London's
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design at the
University of the Arts London. During his tenure in London, Posen found that the environment was competitive, while at the same time students were given a wide berth for independent learning.
[ In 2001, Posen constructed a gown entirely made from thin leather strips and dress-maker hooks and eyes that delivered a powerful commentary about the female figure.][Trebay, Guy (2002-02-12), "FASHION DIARY; At 21, a Grasp Of Women's Clout". The New York Times. 151 (52027):B8] The gown was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum and featured in their "Curvaceous" exhibition.
