Casa Susanna, a photo book chronicling the lives and loves of a group of mid-century men who dressed as women at a country retreat in the Catskills Mountains, was Joseph Altuzarra’s starting point for spring. Something about Susanna Valenti and her friends’ expressiveness served as an unlock for Altuzarra. “I just love how joyful it was,” he said. “I really wanted the collection to feel joyful, to be all about color and this idea of freedom.”
For the past few seasons, Altuzarra was presenting collections in his Woolworth Building headquarters. Today, he was in its Gilded Age lobby, with its wood-paneled walls and soaring gold-leaf mosaic ceilings. It did feel sort of like a coming-out party: a big reveal after a quieter, more sedate period, at least as far as his design instincts were concerned.
The shift was clear from the very first exit, a silk madras circle skirt of 1950s proportions with a crinoline underneath to provide its exuberant shape, which he topped with a voluminous black biker jacket. Not every look combined the hyper-feminine with the butch, but he wanted the collection to have that range: from a workingman’s wardrobe to pretty, delicate things. Beyond the biker jackets, the masculine side of the story was fleshed out with broad-shoulder blazers, leather carpenter pants, button-downs with removable (and interchangeable) starched collars and cuffs, and shiny black brogues. On the opposite end: bejeweled plissé dresses and intarsia knit sets in animal motifs.
Early on, Altuzarra was famous for his slit pencil skirts; this season’s reached new heights, stretching all the way up the hip bones, only they were worn with those brogues when once it would’ve been sky-high heels. He also experimented with dresses and camisoles that unpeeled at the seams, revealing an embellished layer underneath. It’s an idea that has been popping up around fashion; here, the underlying meaning was obvious: “What was once hidden becomes visible; glamour emerges from within.” There are moments in a designer’s trajectory that you’re happy to be around for; Altuzarra’s mini breakthrough was one of those times.
