Simplicity, Elegance, Clean, Form and above all Frivolity! These are the words designer Zac Posen repeated over and over back stage. For his Fall collection the designer wanted to explore the lady who works or needs to works. To open the show, Posen jumped into this season plaid trend with a delicate organza with a navy blue and brown plaid print. Which he created a organza plaid dress and baggy pants. The movement of the organdy with the subtle print looks very playful on the runway.

For Fall Posen opened the collection with a dark pallet of navy blue and blacks. His focus was to tailoring the pieces and looks to create very striking form. This is the first season that Posen has showed a suit look for his clients. The suit jacket is tailored close to the waist with a straight shoulder line creating a very masculine look. The suit pant is tapered to the leg and hemmed mid-calf. I didn’t like the tapered leg of the pant. Then Posen shifted the color palette by adding some white. I fell off my seat when I saw the white bolero sleeve dress shirt. The dramatic weight of the sleeves was a great contrast to the navy blue satin pencil skirt.

Another trend that Zac played with this season was the puff skirt. Interestingly Posen made the puff skirt his own by playing with it and morphing it with the pencil skirt. He took a satin pencil skirt and from the back panels of the skirt he continued the fabric to drape back up to the waist of the skirt. So that the front of the skirt looked like a pencil skirt with the dramatic bulster of fabric in the back creating a cape-like look to the skirt and from the back it looked like a puff skirt. Posen showed this skirt in black and navy blue satin.

Posen also focused on the finishing details of several looks, like the navy blue satin “Jackie O” cocktail dress. At the waist he gathers the satin so it would create rippled bow. Another great detail was on another navy blue satin skirt, where Posen draped the fabric down the dress and it was then pinned into a bustle on each panel of fabric to resemble a bulky bow at the hem of the skirt. Worn with a simple white crepe tank top. Posen’s dedication to detail in this collection is simply amazing, the end result is almost couture-like.

Zac Posen typically steers clear season after season of the trends, which seems to be plagued on runway after runway. This season his seemed to relax this philosophy, but he certainly molded these trends into something only Posen would have the guts to pull off. One trend that Zac attempted and simply created one of the most memorable and decadent versions the shearling coat. He showed a knee-length shorthair shearling coat in navy blue. The coat is proof of his dedication to tailoring; with it tailored waist and romantic shoulders. The coat was worn with a leather pant to top off the strong look.

The evening section was rather small this season, Posen choose to only show three evening gowns. First was a floor length black leather gown with a breast panel bodice, similar to overalls. The gown is certainly a striking look for Posen but I found it to be very sexy and nod to Gianni Versace back in 94’. The most striking gown was the navy blue satin taffeta evening gown with the fabric shaped into a puff skirt on top and then at the knee the fabric is gathered to create rippled ribbon affect.

The must have pieces from the collection include the organza skirt with strips of python leather appliqué to create a plaid design on the skirt. Worn with a navy wool denim hooded coat lined with faux fur. The other must have of the collection are any of the satin embroidered pencil skirts. Zac Posen is the kind of designer who aims to please his clients and the wondering eye. His fascination with his craft and creating new inventive looks to mold his vision. Bravo Monsieur POsen!

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[images via style]