Zac Posen Gives Creative Business Advice on 'Real Biz' with Rebecca Jarvis
American fashion design, Zac Posen makes a statement with his latest runway
— -- How do you measure success? For American fashion designer, Zac Posen, the answer is ever evolving.
“I don’t put one title on what is success. There’s different kinds of success. What I’ve learned though creativity, through business is you have to enjoy process.” Posen tells ABC News’ Chief Business and Economics correspondent, Rebecca Jarvis.
The 35-year-old, New York native, launched his first eponymous collection at just 21 years old, and only two years later was awarded one of fashion’s most distinguished honors, Swarovski’s Perry Ellis Award for Womenswear by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). By 2004, Sean Combs aka P. Diddy, had invested in the young designer and by 2007 his gowns were all over the red carpet, worn by celebrity A-listers like Gwyneth Paltrow.
Despite his early achievements, Posen continues to stay hungry and busy! “Every time you reach a new goal, you kind of put out the next goal for growth,” he says.
In addition to running his own major fashion label, Posen is the creative director for Brooks Brothers; he is launching a make-up collection with MAC Cosmetics, designing the uniforms for Delta Airlines and is a judge on Lifetime’s "Project Runway" with Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia. In his “spare-time” he’s writing a cookbook, set for release in 2017. “That’s my pleasure project,” he tells Jarvis, “I go home, I de-fashion stress by cooking.”
Posen is also known for breaking down barriers with his work, recently casting his New York Fashion Week runway show almost exclusively with women of color. “This season we gave our time to properly cast the show, to cast our dream show… and you know, it felt, momentous."
So what’s his secret? At the center of Posen’s business philosophy is a willingness to stay open-minded, adapt, and to learn from those around him. “Collaboration is king, to all of this,” Posen says, “But you have to also be resilient…business is about resilience and if you thrive off of that resilience and drive, then you know, you might have a shot at this business.”