Zac Posen and Naomi Campbell at Posen's fall 2015 show. Photo: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images

Today in news that really only surprises us because it's so obvious that it seems like it should have been announced sooner, Zac Posen has reportedly been hired to revive Charles James.

 

Harvey Weinstein entered into a deal with the James family back in May of last year to license the Charles James brand with plans to reintroduce it to the global luxury market. Weinstein brought on his wife, Marchesa co-founder Georgina Chapman, as well as Marchesa CEO Edward Chapman as consultants.

 

Dubbed the "first American couturier," James and the glamorous, sculptural evening gowns he designed for American society women from the '30s to the '50s returned to the global fashion conversation last year, when he was announced as the subject of 2014's Costume Institute exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the exhibit's opening gala, we couldn't help but notice that the gowns Posen designed for Sarah Silverman, Liu Wen, Karen Elson, Dita von Teese and Maggi Q were by far the most on-theme in their sculptural extravagance. If the event was an audition for the role of Charles James's new creative director, Posen could have been deemed the frontrunner then and there. In fact, both the Washington Post and Style.com used the word "heir" to describe Posen's relationship to the late designer. On top of all that, the inspiration for Posen's fall 2014 collection was credited to James.

 

And now, perhaps thanks to all that campaigning, it sounds like that "heir" designation has become more literal. Responding to a Page Six report that Posen has been tapped for the role, a rep for Zac Posen did not deny the appointment, saying there was "no further information to share at this moment" and that we'll be "contact[ed] as soon as we do." A rep for The Weinstein Company was not able to comment by publication time.

 

Source: Fashionista