Model wears a design at a presentation of the Zac Posen Resort 2008 collection in New York on Wednesday, June 4, 2008.[Agencies]

Then he added a characteristic twist to the backstory. "She's like a washed up mermaid who just made love to a Rasta and wakes up on shore."

For a lower price point, Posen also added multicolored cotton tunic-like dresses that retail for under $1000 (the Bow Wow Wow looks). Then there was the nautical passage, with navy suede strips edging the hems of skirts and tennis skirt dresses with large to small scale pleats.

Like many designers before him, Posen also had his own interpretation of "Le Smoking," the late Yves Saint Laurent's most famous creation, all the more timely this week against the backdrop of the designer's death. Posen's version, in soft white silk with slinky pajama-like bottoms, was the most grown-up and sophisticated look in the collection, perhaps a sign of a move by Posen into more mature territory.

Though Resort won't hit stores for several more months, his busy studio is hard at work creating his fall collection, sourcing fabrics and coming up with inventive ways to combine, say, lurex and netting. Mum's the word, but here's a hint: Space travel is definitely on Posen's brain.

Who knows, exotic country clubs may soon be setting up shop on the Moon, so Posen needs to be ready.