Zac Posen Fall 2010

It's the real world and now Zac Posen is living in it. The first model on his runway Monday morning in a small Chelsea venue wore a fully wearable, thoroughly sophisticated, portrait-neck cape in camel-coloured felt, smart trousers and a creamy silk blouse. In fact, the former flashy showman, who has recently chronicled in the press his struggles to lead a viable business, turned out a mostly understated, chic collection. It might not be full of head-turners, but the clothes aren't as polarizing as, say, his tornado-inspired gowns a few seasons ago. As wild as it got here were some copper metallics, pink-dot prints and magenta-coloured fur. The magenta was a refreshing break from the largely neutral palette that has been dominating this round of previews for stylists, editors and retailers. One of the best looks of Posen's was a longer-length magenta velvet jacket with grosgrain trim, a black silk blouse and a short, magenta godet skirt that gave just a little lift to the silhouette. Posen also recently participated in a panel discussion about too-thin models. The designer maintained the problem wasn't so much the weight of the catwalkers as it was their young age. He made a commitment to seek out older models - by industry standards that means 18, maybe even 16 - and he seemed to stick by it, hiring veterans Alek Wek, Hana Soukupova, Sessilee Lopez and Coco Rocha.