Runway Reviews

(NEW YORK) Forty blocks south of Bryant Park, Zac Posen unveiled his pre-fall 2009 collection in Tribeca at the Cercle Rouge brasserie. The usual suspects were there (like mom Susan and aunt Suzie, Joe Zee and Nina Garcia), but madness and flashbulbs were absent. The intimate presentation confidently asserted that Posen intends to return to "fundamentals," following a lukewarmly received and subdued Spring collection.
 
The models who paraded through the space in the style of George Cukor's cinematic fashion shows evoked the essence of Marilyn Monroe's Sugar Kane Kowalczyk in Some Like It Hot. Almost fliriting, they pranced around in beautifully fitted fringe dresses, luxurious eel skin and leopard trenches and designer's signature show-stopping gowns. And while the Spring collection was largely devoted to party dresses, these pieces felt richer both in palette and tailoring. "This is the beginning of Fall, and the color palette that we've put together, as well as ideas of the season, will flow through," the designer said after the show. "But essentially, I really wanted to express ultra-femininity and character. This wasn't really a theme-based collection. It was really about finesse, glamour, and attitude."