I honestly enjoy watching documentaries based on icons that I love, yet know nothing about. Dior&I and Iris are two of my favourite fashion documentaries; being able to peer into their world, their thoughts and their lives is such an interesting concept to me.
The main thing I liked about this documentary was the opening. Seeing how Zac Posen grew up and seeing him in home videos; how he has been creating silhouettes and clothing since he was a child. I found it to be a very sweet piece of background history. I also like that they mentioned his parents work and I found it very interesting to learn about how they inspired him.
I had no idea that Posen studied at Central Saint Martins, and found inspiration from London fashion culture. Having stars such as Naomi Campbell talk about how she heard of Zac and wanted one of his dresses was thoroughly engaging as it was the base for his spike in popularity and demand. This subsequently was the beginning of his rapid escalation into the fashion world. What I found to be the most fascinating was the dress he created for the Victoria and Albert museum that they ended up buying and keeping on display due to it's beautiful construction and innovative thinking behind it.
His first show that was documented in the film was truly inspiring and beautiful. I love how fun it was. It just didn't give a damn about normal runway etiquette. The usual straight-up-great-posture models were allowed to move and have fun with the clothes; showing off the brands and more importantly the garments themselves. One part of this that made me laugh was when Anna Wintour was interviewed at this show. She was asked by a reporter if she was here because of Zac but she just responded by saying that she wasn't, he was just a friend of her son's. That's a quite entertaining part, but it also sparks the question of whether or not Zac Posen had it easy in the business; due to the fact that he knew so many high profile people in the fashion industry.
The rest of the documentary goes through his rise to the top of the industry and states many times that it was a rapid escalation. It goes through his biggest runways and collections, up until the point of his "fall".
The whole idea around his "fall" was his facade of wealth and money, mixed with his extravagant ways and the role he played, and the fact that it wasn't real. That it ate him up on the inside almost, that it made him kind of depressed. Sending him into a spiral as things became bigger and bigger, which impacted on his garments and shows. This spiral led to his collections being less that what people expected. Audiences became bored, many believing he wasn't himself anymore. The press took notice of this and did what they are best at. Creating negativity.This utterly destroyed the old Posen that broke the boundaries of dress making. This part of the film was actually quite upsetting, as a fan of his work seeing him fall this way was heartbreaking.
Finalising the documentary is his great comeback show. Based in his own fashion house, where his collections were created, twenty five pieces were hand sewn and fashioned for the most important show of his career. What I didn't know was that twenty fiver pieces was a small amount for a show, and that people would speculate things about him because of it. But as Posen said 'quality over quantity' Even though it was a stressful moment in the film, it was also the most captivating. How he and his team worked so hard to create the small collection, and these gorgeous garments, especially the finale piece that is structurally mind blowing and inspiring. When the team finally finished the collection and started the show, I was in awe of it. Zac Posen truly has a gift. Taking structure and silhouettes, visualising them and realising them as dresses and ensembles. His team are also so very talented. Being able to construct this complex and complicated imagination from their own hands. This piece, as well as the whole collection, brought him back into recognition. The Zac Posen that everyone was in awe with was back. This dress in particular was worn the same year at the MET ball. As well as many dresses after that including the innovative glow dress.
Overall, I enjoyed the fashion documentary. The tone was sincere and truthful. Zac narrating, along with his friends and family, really exposed themselves to the audience. Sharing their inner and outer thoughts around the rapid escalation of his career. The only thing I disagreed with was the trailer for the actual film. It created the assumption that Zac did something so dramatic, that it killed his career. When really the fame and extravagancy just took over who he was. That's it. Other than that it was an enjoyable watch and I would recommend it to anyone who likes these kind of documentaries and anyone interested in coming into the fashion business. You can't not know who Zac Posen is in the business of fashion.
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