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32 ZAC POSEN POPS IN TO TEN BEST DRESSED By Lisa Collins Shaddock. Photography Dana Driensky, Jeanne Prejean/MySweetCharity. T he day of the Crystal Charity Ball Ten Best Dressed Fashion Show and Luncheon at Neiman Marcus Downtown, Zac Posen looked like he could barely contain his excitement at presenting his longtime customers with a very special gift. The gift: a nev- er-before-seen collection of more than 70 jaw-dropping gowns and dresses he hand-selected with NM vice president and fashion director Ken Downing for the occasion. Models strutting down the runway dripped not only with glamour, but with jewels, thanks to Australian designer Margot McKinney, who brought the rarest pearl necklace in the world to be part of the show. Yet even alongside such competition, the Ten Best Dressed sparkled. Downing did the honors, recognizing the ladies (Anita Arnold, Delilah Boyd, Katherine Coker, Janie Condon, Lisa Cooley, Tucker Enthoven, Pat Harloe, Julie Hawes, Amy Hegi, Piper Wyatt, and Hall of Fame Honoree Charlotte Jones Anderson) as each took her turn down the runway. Posen forewent the traditional New York Fashion Week show, and instead chose to debut his spring collection in Dallas — at Neiman Marcus Downtown, where it all began. The loca- tion could not have been more fi tting. "I get sentimental every time I come into this store," he says, noting the friendship and support he's gained through his 15-year relationship with Neiman's. "This store was my fi rst touchdown in Texas, and it changed my life." Neiman Marcus returned to its roots as well, packing away the tents once pitched for the event outside the downtown fl agship store and moving the fashion show and luncheon back inside for the fi rst time since 2013. First came a champagne reception en masse on NM's First Floor; meanwhile, longtime Crystal Charity Ball supporter and former Ten Best Dressed member Nancy Rogers hosted a private reception for the 2017 Ten Best Dressed upstairs in the Michael Flores hair salon. The fashion show was held in the couture salon, and afterwards, we took the escalators to the fourth fl oor, where a blossoming garden luncheon awaited. On the menu were dishes inspired by Posen's recently released cookbook, Cooking with Zac — jumbo lump crab salad, slow-roast chicken with minted quinoa, and a Texas peach berry tart with lemon lavender sorbet. THE ZAC PACK: Luncheon chair Christi Urschel; Crystal Charity Ball chairman Pam Perella; Neiman Marcus Group president and CEO Karen Katz and president and chief merchan- dising offi cer Jim Gold; as well as former First Lady Laura Bush, Ruth Altshuler, Joan Schnitzer Levy, Nancy Dedman, Tavia Hunt, Gene and Jerry Jones, Meredith Counce, Cami Goff, Shelby Goff, Georgina Hartland, Nasiba Adilova, Sue Gragg, and Cindy Rachofsky. Zac Posen Katherine Coker, Anita Arnold, Delilah Boyd, Charlotte Jones Anderson Pat Harloe, Lisa Cooley, Tucker Enthoven, Julie Hawes, Janie Condon Christi Urschel, Pam Perella, Amy Hegi, Piper Wyatt Jim Gold, Margot McKinney, Zac Posen Karen Katz, Ken Downing Sarah & Ross Perot Toni Munoz-Hunt Kelli Ford Lisa Singleton Bela Pjetrovic Di Johnston Heather Furniss Paige Slates Annette Simmons Laura Bush Lee Ann White Nancy Rogers Michael Flores Becky Bowen Cara French