Zac Posen Reflects On His Proudest Moments at Gap Inc.

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Last night at Gotham Hall, industry icon Zac Posen was honored with the Designer of the Year award at the AAFA American Image Awards for his work at Gap Inc. Before the show started, we caught up with the EVP and Creative Director to chat about how he feels receiving this prestigious honor, what he’s most proud of from his two (plus!) years with the brand, and why he asked his bestie Katie Holmes to present to him. 

This is a special award for you. Why was getting this so meaningful to you?
It’s huge to be recognized by the community. I started my career officially four blocks up from where we are now. I was 16 years old and I never looked back. Creativity is about being a long-distance runner. I have the honor of being recognized for my work, but also the work of an incredible creative community at Gap Inc. across four iconic American brands. It’s been an amazing over two years there and evolving the creative community, the culture, and the evolution of the company.

How do you feel about being honored? Do you get nervous?
Definitely. I get nervous. It’s a funny thing, I definitely have a performative side of myself, but there’s something about being a creator behind the scenes. If it’s helpful for an industry and helps celebrate a night, I’m happy to be there and represent. I was brought here by my community at Gap Inc., which has been involved with the organization for a long time. I’m pretty honored that they thought of me. It’s humbling. It’s an amazing room of people. My second show was here [at Gotham Hall.] I christened this space. It was a washing machine showroom!

No way!
Way! I said, “Can you move these machines?” We were the first ever event in this space.

Katie Holmes is presenting to you tonight. What’s your relationship like?
Katie’s one of my best friends, and we’ve grown up together. We’re part of each other’s family. We’ve had many amazing fashion and style moments together. Katie is a great appreciator of fashion and style. She’s also an OG Gap girl herself. In the role that I’ve been in, it’s kind of a life choice. It’s non-stop. It’s nice to have moments where I can have a reconnection to friends. I’m excited for Katie’s premiere at Tribeca Film Festival with the next film she’s directed.

Katie Holmes wearing Gap Studio (Getty Images)

You’ve been with Gap Inc. for over two years now. What have been the highlights been?
Wow! Many highlights! Just helping evolve the brand with moving at the speed of culture. Getting the product improved by all four brands. Everything from launching our all American designers collabs at Old Navy, with some iconic advertising with that. Being part of the launch of Gap Studio and being part of the momentum that brand has had. Opening the Banana Republic store and relaunching and working on the brand codes. Working on the digital product creation evolution and how technology plays with our creative community. Victoria Beckham’s upcoming collab is super exciting and so is Christopher John Rogers [collaboration] at Old Navy. Last week, we relaunched our archive pieces at Banana Republic. It’s always super busy. I’ve had the honor of working with an incredible senior leadership team and representing the creative community there.