“House Of Z” chronicles the meteoric rise of fashion designer Zac Posen at the age of 21 and then his brand’s falling out of favor several years later and his challenge to rebuild his company and his reputation.
It is both a portrait of an artist as a young man, and a look behind the glamorous curtain of one of the most distinguished brands in the world. Documentary subject Zac Posen, Director Sandy Chronopoulos, Producers Jana Edelbaum, and Rachel Cohen and Executive Producer Suzanne Rogers were on hand for the film’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere at SVA. Additional guests included Iman and Uma Thurman.
When asked about his collaborative process with Sandy, Posen shared “Well, it took time. It was over a three year process. Letting somebody into your creative process is one step. Letting somebody into the good and exciting and highlighting moments of one’s career, is wonderful and letting somebody into the real moments that people don’t know of what it takes in the journey in art and commerce is terrifying to sign off final cut, and let somebody tell a story and research and interview certain people that might not like you or have different opinions and find what that story is, is quite a journey. And can be quite nerve racking … you know this is a movie about creative process and about family, and about resilience. This is the story of my American dream.”
Sandy Chronopoulos discussed how the project came about. “This started out as a TV special about a collection and it naturally evolved. I sort of followed my gut and it sort of naturally evolved into a film. At one point I knew that it was a feature film about five months into filming, and so we turned what we had into a film … We know Zac on Project Runway, and we see him on red carpets and in magazines, but you don’t really get to see designers be vulnerable or brave. You know the fashion industry is all about image, and so Zac was incredibly brave, telling his story. Nothing was really off-limits.”
EP Suzanne Rogers added, “This was a journey that started in 2014 for me, when Zac came to Toronto and did a charity runway show for me and Rogers Corporation, Rogers Media. And we were the first producers that came on. I usually do a documentary of designers that I bring to Canada for television across Canada, but this took on a life of its own and it came out of my hands … and we are here today because of other partners that came in and really made this what is today.” She continued that viewers will see, “The whole story of what it means to be a designer. It’s not all glitz and glamor, it’s not all this red carpet. There’s a real story behind these designers. There’s a real story of trials, tribulations, the business aspect of it. Do they make money, do they not make money? The struggles and all of that is important to a designer, it’s not just the red carpet, it’s not just dressing a celebrity. There’s so much more, there’s a person behind it who has to go through a lot to make it all happen. There’s a human behind it.” Next up Rogers is bringing Diane Von Furstenberg to Toronto. They are hosting a gala luncheon with her May 4 to raise money for children’s charity.
