Watch Maya Hawke in Zac Posen’s Spring 2019 Video—Before Stranger Things Makes Her a Star
Stranger Things fans have to wait until summer 2019 for season three. For anyone eager to know whether the newly cast Maya Hawke takes after mom Uma Thurman or dad Ethan Hawke, here’s a teaser. Zac Posen enlisted the 20-year-old up-and-comer to star in his Spring 2019 lookbook, shot by Gia Coppola, and this behind the scenes clip is airing exclusively on Vogue Runway.
Posen has recently taken to hiring name-in-lights stars for his lookbook shoots. For Fall 2018, Katie Holmes had the honors. Hawke is 20 years Holmes’s junior, and the difference seems intentional; at a preview Posen said he was keen to take the gowns into a lighter place. Hawke and her director got the memo.
“We really wanted to keep it youthful, free, and not fussy,” Coppola tells Vogue Ruwnay. “Zac and [his partner] Christopher provided me so many incredible reference images, and Maya has such charisma it all felt very effortless. I just kind of followed the natural energy of the space and people.” It helps that Hawke and Coppola have long histories with the designer. Posen took Hawke to her first CFDA Awards and her first Vanity Fair Oscars party. Coppola says: “I’ve known Zac since I was 14. He also gave me my very first job opportunity, I did a music/promo video for his Target collection way back in the day.” She continues: “I love spending time with him and Christopher. The constantly inspire and challenge me. They are the definition true friendship and family, and to me, that’s the most fun space to work in. And how does Coppola rate the ingenue Hawke? “She’s a natural born star,” she says. “She tapped into exactly what I was looking for without having to express it. She delivered so much—I really attribute the photos to how much she brought to the table. I’m really excited for her.”
Hawke admitted that she’s fairly new to the fashion game, but said that clothes are important tool for acting. “How a person dresses can tell you so much about them. For example, when filming Little Women, the corsets and full skirts I wore as Jo immediately affected the way I moved and also provided me with clues about how she might think and feel. In terms of my relationship with fashion as an industry, that’s very new to me, but I am very grateful to have wonderful and creative advisors like Zac and Christopher to help shape my first experiences with it.” Having worn Posen’s clothes for two days straight on the shoot, she observes: “I love Zac’s clothing because the dresses don’t aspire to be “cool” and they don’t try to overshadow or manufacture the personality of the women who wear them. They aspire to be beautiful and to highlight and frame one’s natural graces. There is something romantic and nostalgic about the shapes he chooses. The dresses are era-less yet original.”
When asked why he prefers an intimate photo shoot to the spectacle of a fashion show at the moment, Posen says: “I like the idea of creating a project that feels personal and capturing something that has atmosphere. These images feel like something lasting versus having a runway. I love runway shows, but I could potentially put these in a book in the future.” Also: “just to capture this moment in Maya’s life—a young star before she hits the screen.”
Watch the video here.
