House of Z | Documentary review
- Millie Fisher
- Feb 1, 2018
- 3 min read
House of Z was released on the Vogue website in April 2017. It documents the life of Zac Posen, showing the glitz and glamour of his lifestyle and his quick rise to fame, following his incredible talent as an American designer. The documentary showcases his rocky career and the darker side that fashion seeped into his life. Zac Posen is famously known for his incredible craftsmanship on luxury womenswear and the quick success that he achieved at a very young age. A lot of people may also know Zac Posen for the mass amounts of negative press that came with his career which caused a rocky ride for him and his designs. Zac now resides as a judge on 'Project Runway' the American television series.
I was very interested to learn in more detail about Zac Posen because anyone interested in fashion will have heard the rise of his name, along with his famous designs. Having only known a minimal amount about his early career, i think this documentary really opens up his world and teaches behind the scenes of runway and the work that goes into it.
The documentary unravels the tiny details in Zac's life including his relationship with his creative family and how they supported him in his career. His family's creative background influenced him into designing from a young age. He used to collect fabrics from the streets for his figurines, where he could drape and layer to create different designs. Growing up Zac felt like an outsider, until he went to a creative school where he befriended models and people who shared his love of fashion and design.
"He could take a piece of fabric, spin it around me and make it look fabulous, he just wanted to make amazing looking clothing". House of Z talks about his ground breaking designs, spotted by designers such a Gianni Versace and Henri Bendel. Naomi Campbell raved about his designs and wanted to wear them for herself. He delivered award winning comic, magic and fun runway shows which was a reflection on his gratitude and hard dedication he put into his work.
This fashion film really digs deep into the press and how negative backlash had hard hitting effects on Zac. He had to live up to this role and persona that was created about him, he was amazing, he was going to these huge, famous parties, everyone wanted to meet him- but behind the scenes he would work all night and sleep on the couch in his studio. By a certain point of his career he was so overworked that he didn't even have the time to eat, he was skinner than ever.
What i really admire from this documentary is how nothing is sugar coated, the full story is put out there and despite the negative things people were saying about him- he was really working hard and he never gave up on his dream. He is admirable and an inspiration, but press said that he 'had it too early' or didn't really deserve it because he only got to this level of fame because of his connections to celebrities. Other young designers didn't stand a chance compared to him, but not because of his links to the people he knew but because of his power and his strength to carry on, even when it got REALLY tough.
Overall i think that House of Z really captures the essence of the fashion industry and how challenging it can be for designers and everyone else working around them. You don't get to this stage without hard work and standing by what you believe in. Zac Posen may have wobbled a lot of the way through his early career but he managed to overcome the bad through strong dedication and belief- THAT is a lesson that can be learned by everyone.