By Nedra Rhone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Designer Zac Posen has been spending a lot of time in these parts. This year, he is among the four designers serving as Style Lab Mentors for the Savannah College of Art and Design (Posen's post is in Savannah). And Wednesday, he arrives in Atlanta to champion his latest endeavor, Z Spoke, a contemporary collection exclusive to Saks Fifth Avenue.

Priced from $78 to $675, the affordable collection includes a range of items including pants, dresses and T-shirts in materials such as silk, cashmere and stretchy knits.

"We have killer pants. I wanted to create great pants … and T-shirts at starting price points of $78 that would become everyday keepsakes and be able to compete with Helmut Lang and Alexander Wang T-shirts," Posen said. "Every season we will have one iconic flirty dress in the collection."

Posen, a favorite of young Hollywood, believes there is serious business to be built at this price point and that he and his team are just the ones to build it. He chatted with us by phone while en route from the West Coast to the South.

Q: How have you found the experience of working with SCAD Style Lab in Savannah?

A: It has been amazing. I first went down there with Andre Leon Talley and it has become part of my life. Since I’ve started I’ve been completely committed to education and the arts through charity work and my own company. I love working with students. It is really important to give back.

Q: What is the most important thing you hope to communicate to the design students today?

A: I think it is a sense of self-refinement and discipline balanced with great experimentation. When you are a fashion student it is your opportunity to design who your woman is, what she is about and the characteristics that define who you are. And they are interacting with me ... I could hire them, find them a job or be jealous of them.

Q: Why did you decide to launch Z Spoke?

A: I wanted to create the ultimate new American look. I wanted to create a collection that was utilitarian and minimalist. With popping bright colors and a cleanliness of preppy quality. A collection for the other eight hours of the day.

Q: Who is the customer for this collection?

A: The kind of empowered woman – a woman on the go, a creative woman, whether she is a mom or a professional woman running for president. She is a woman who holds her own empowerment and hopefully [the collection] enables her to have her creativity and be chic while doing it. I really didn’t want to underestimate the customer. I have spent so much time on the road with the luxury customer and I saw the demand and need and I knew me and my team could really rise to the occasion.

Q: How do you create a lower-priced line, but still retain the integrity and aesthetic of your designs?

A: It is not the look for less. It is a different way of making clothing. It is not the couture ... the techniques are more industrial and flat, which is very exciting in fashion. It's a level of smart simplicity in our own way. There is lots of top stitching and darting, a detail which is signature to our brand.

Event Preview

Zac Posen at Saks Fifth Avenue Phipps Plaza. 6 p.m. -- 8 p.m., Wednesday, free. 3500 Peachtree Road N.E., Lower Level, RSVP at 404-812-7320 or rsvp saksatlanta@s5a.com