Don't worry about what's cool and what's not cool. Authenticity

When Zac Posen declared, “Don’t worry about what’s cool and what’s not cool. Authenticity is what’s cool,” he was not merely giving advice to the world of fashion—he was offering a truth as timeless as the human spirit itself. In these words lies the essence of what the ancients called integritas: the wholeness of being true to one’s own nature. For what is “cool” but a fleeting illusion, a shadow cast by the opinions of others? Yet authenticity, the courage to be genuine in a world that rewards imitation, is eternal. It is the quiet flame that burns through all trends, all pretenses, all masks.

The pursuit of coolness is as old as humankind’s desire to belong. From the youth of Athens to the nobles of Rome, people have always chased the approval of the crowd—the finest robes, the most eloquent speech, the newest fashions. But history teaches that the ones remembered are not those who followed the style of their time, but those who stood apart from it. The true artist, the true thinker, the true soul—each has known that authenticity is rarer and far more radiant than conformity. The coolness of the moment fades; the authenticity of spirit endures like stone against the centuries.

Consider the story of Socrates, the philosopher who walked barefoot through Athens, mocked for his plainness and simplicity. While others adorned themselves in elegant garments and sought glory in rhetoric, he wore the same cloak day after day and spoke only truth, even when it displeased the powerful. He was not “cool” by the standards of his age. He drank the cup of poison rather than betray his own convictions. And yet, millennia later, it is his authenticity, not the fleeting charm of his accusers, that still inspires hearts across the world. The lesson is clear: to be true is to be immortal, while to be fashionable is to vanish with the wind.

Zac Posen, a designer who rose in an era obsessed with surface and spectacle, understood this paradox well. In the glittering halls of fashion, where trends change as swiftly as the seasons, he reminded the world that authenticity is what’s truly cool. His words carry the wisdom of one who has seen both applause and silence, who knows that success built upon imitation is as fragile as silk in the rain. The truly “cool” individual is not the one who conforms to the moment, but the one who dares to define it through their own truth.

The ancients believed that beauty and truth are one. A sculptor who carved from marble was told not to impose his will upon the stone, but to reveal the form that already lived within it. So too must we shape our lives—not by forcing ourselves into the mold of the world’s approval, but by revealing the beauty that already resides within us. Authenticity is the art of unveiling the self, unashamed and unaltered, before the eyes of existence.

Yet to live authentically requires courage. It demands that we step away from the applause of the crowd and listen instead to the quiet voice within. The world may not always reward such honesty; indeed, it often fears it. But the wise know that the respect earned by truth outweighs the praise earned by pretense. To be yourself, fully and fearlessly, is the highest form of rebellion—and the most enduring kind of beauty.

Therefore, dear reader, heed this teaching: do not chase coolness—create it through your own integrity. Speak in your own voice, even when it trembles. Dress, act, and live in ways that honor who you are, not who others expect you to be. For fashion fades, but character remains. Every time you choose truth over imitation, you shape a world more radiant and more real.

In the end, what Zac Posen spoke was not just the creed of the artist, but the wisdom of the soul: “Authenticity is what’s cool.” Let this be your compass. In your work, in your love, in your quiet moments of doubt, return to your own essence. For when you live as you truly are, you will find that the world bends toward your light—and that your life itself becomes the greatest masterpiece of all.