Zac Posen designs incredible clothes and makes women look beautiful with ease. His collections are elegant, fabrics choices, luxe and in brilliant hues… and while he’s able to create cool structural shapes, his designs always look feminine and soft to the touch while staying strong and as beautiful as the women who wear them. If I were attending a red carpet event, I’d want to be wearing a Zac Posen gown, no question.
Did you SEE KATIE HOLMES AT THE MET GALA!?! Simply stunning!
You may know him now from Project Runway, but I bet you didn’t know that Zac Posen got his start with Ecco Domani back in 2002!
The Italian wine brand sponsored Zac Posen’s first major runway show as part of its Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award. Over the years, Ecco Domani has contributed more than $1.8 million to support up-and-coming designers such as Rodarte, Proenza Schouler and Prabal Gurung through the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation. Zac Posen was a member of the foundation’s inaugural class of award recipients in 2002.
Ecco Domani and Zac Posen have reunited this year to create this beautiful limited edition bottle for their Pinot Grigio, available in stores nationwide this month. The wine, with its delicate citrus and floral aromas, signature tropical fruit flavors, and now with the whimsical custom Zac Posen design, can be found in the Italian import section of retailers and in wine shops, but it’s a limited edition, so grab a few bottles while you can!
Zac is a renowned host and home chef, often sharing his creations on Instagram using the hashtag #CookingwithZac. From pretty plated dishes that will make you drool to sumptuous tablescapes and stunning floral arrangements in colors I can only imagine inspire his collections, he offers a glimpse inside his creative vision, work and home life. Below, Zac shares a few of his favorite tips for summer entertaining:
- Color is an easy way to create depth and texture around a dish. When preparing a meal, think about color pairings in the way you might with fashion.
- Fresh herbs add a pop of color to any dish. Some of my favorites are chives, basil, chervil and parsley.
- Less is more in home cooking. Go for simplicity with ingredients that add a little bit of decadence.
- Invest in great plating and glasses—these elements reflect your signature entertaining style.
- It’s okay to go stemless when it comes to your glass selection. These make quaffing easier, and they’re also easier to place on a table. The overall effect: effortless!
Last wednesday, an Ecco Domani Style Society brunch was held in NYC to reveal their collaboration and beautiful bottle design, and while I wasn’t able to attend the event to meet Zac in person, he was kind enough to Skype with me from my home office for a quick chat.
When we first connected, we had a few fun moments of back and forth like we were old friends. We chatted about Los Angeles and flowers and how great I thought he looked with his new haircut, and then onto Project Runway… specifically about how much I love his presence on the show, when he told me that last season was the highest rated and most successful ever, and that it made him so proud to be a part of something so special.
I’m no seasoned interviewer, and as I tried to segue into his collaboration with Ecco Domani, I must have regarded his bottle design by saying “I love it, it’s so pretty” about a billion times! To which he kindly responded:
“I wanted something that represented “me” and that could just sit on a table and sort of start the party.”
Me: And it does. It’s such a great conversational piece and then you get to drink it too!
Me: I know you love flowers, and are inspired by them but what was your inspiration behind the design of the bottle?
Zac: It started with a gorgeous Japanese textile I found while in Japan, then took to Italy where I worked with artisans who developed it for a collection of mine in 2012. From there, it became a sort-of iconic print within our brand we named “Kiko” even though it started from a very traditional kind of obi print… When we got the bottle and were tasting the floral notes, and green accents and citrus notes, I immediately thought of bursts of color and the sparkling quality and wanted to find a way to create something that would pop and could work with the Ecco Domani logo, itself. We wanted something that had metallic within the design as well because I think that says reflection and twinkle and, ya know, let’s get this event started!
Me: I love that you went with silver. Why did you go with silver over gold?
Zac: It’s more springtime, silver. I like that silver reflects whatever is in it’s setting. Ya know, gold is like the sepia filter on Instagram {Me: giggle, yes, totally!} and silver just sort of picks up and brightens everything. {Me: like a mirror, a bit} Yeah, exactly!
Me: I’ve just gotten the bottle recently, and it is really gorgeous. It photographs beautifully too!
Zac: Well, that’s important {smiling}. I’m glad it photographs well, but I’m even happier that it tastes great. {Me: yes, of course! It is delicious!} But yes, both are important.
Me: I know you got your start with Ecco Domani, but how did this collaboration come about? What brought you back together?
Zac: Ecco Domani approached us to do a bottle design and I thought, what a great extension to the table! I cook almost every day… {Me: I know, I drool over your Instagram plates!} So it was a very easy, natural collaboration and you know, making the design and thinking about how a wine bottle today can be decorative without being antiquity, was something that was easy. I started cooking with the wine to get inspired beyond visually, and from there I proposed a few different designs… and they liked this one and from there, we continued evolving it.
Zac: cont’d Ya know, this is just such a great wine…. it reminds me of the coast, and salty air, and delicious tomatoes and a perfect glass of wine.
After talking a bit about my home town, Los Angeles, and living in Lake Arrowhead now…
Zac: I can’t wait to get back to California, just for the produce alone! {Me: I hear that we are spoiled when it comes to great produce} Oh yes, quality and also price! I want to do a comparison one day just to show the difference. But that’s not what it’s about, it’s just about great quality food and great wine!
We wrapped it up just as we began, in what felt like two old friends chatting effortlessly. I thanked him again for his time and then we said our final goodbyes and closed our laptops… And as I’m sure he went on to continue his day of brunch and press interviews, I sat at my desk for a moment, smiling, thinking about how nice and friendly and fabulous he is and couldn’t help getting lost in a daydream for a minute… thinking… one day we’ll meet up in Los Angeles with friends, shop the local farmer’s market for incredibly fresh and organic produce, then find ourselves all relaxing in a gorgeous beach house, cooking and sipping Ecco Domani wine, admiring the sunset, sand between our toes, the salty breeze in our hair, just enjoying life in that forever moment in time… A girl can at least dream, right?
Find/Follow Zac Posen socially at: Facebook.com/officialzacposen // Twitter.com/zac_posen // Instagram.com/zac_posen // Pinterest.com/zacposen
Learn more about Ecco Domani and access more entertaining tips and recipes at: Facebook.com/eccodomani // Instagram.com/eccodomaniwine // Pinterest.com/eccodomani
* This post is brought to you by Ecco Domani wine. All opinions are my own.
