With just 70 guests in his studio, Joseph Altuzarra's fall 2024 New York Fashion Week runway had the feel of a ballroom show, reflecting the designer's desire to return to something simple and exclusive for the 15th anniversary of your business.
This wasn't a greatest hits collection or anything, but it was a blueprint for the way forward for the next 15 years and beyond, executing a strategy to deliver special pieces with the end customer in mind.
“I don't think people are going to go into a store and buy a story now,” he told WWD during an interview. Previously, the black-and-white Harlequin hero dress that came out mid-show would have been part of a story with a pleated skirt and button-down sweater version, a heavily marketed offering, she said.
Instead, there were a variety of delights like this that lived completely independently from the rest of the collection, like a black faux fur three-quarter length diva coat with charming silver bird embroidery, a black tuxedo shirt completely covered in beads of cornet. and a sheer black lace dress with a crystal triangle bra; all of them deserving of a Hollywood red carpet, or at least a night out at an elegant soirée.
The general idea for fall 2024 was “to look dressed up,” said the designer, who was inspired by English riding attire, the Art Deco glamor of Tamara de Lempicka portraits and the romantic style of Princess Diana, among others. things.
To the elegant exploration of presentation and performance, she added nods to ballet and circus: leg warmers, jumpsuits and cozy-looking sweater dresses that projected a certain necessary calm, harlequin prints and whimsical Pierrot collars for fun.
There were some gorgeous outerwear pieces, including a chocolate brown double-face cashmere trench coat with a slightly wrap-around back, a camel coat, and a caped cavalry twill jacket, paired with jodhpurs or long, romantic skirts.
Silk tank tops and bias-cut skirts and dresses came in various luscious shades of ivory, paired with boiled wool jackets or shearling jackets.
Altuzarra's dress of the season came in an abstract equestrian brushstroke print inspired by vintage scarves found in Paris.
“Because we knew people were going to be so close to the clothes, we really wanted to highlight how well made they are,” he said, highlighting details like covered buttons and hand-hammered buttons. “Our process to design and make the collection is essentially a year and a half. “Everything is super considered,” she stated. He showed.
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