Zac Posen - Early Life

Early Life

Posen was raised in the SoHo neighborhood of lower Manhattan, the 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. At age 16 he enrolled in the pre-college program at Parsons The New School for Design. 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 dressmaker hooks and eyes that was displayed by the Victoria and Albert Museum and featured in their "Curvaceous" exhibition.