Joseph Altuzarra built his spring show around a book of photographs from Casa Susanna, a mid-century Catskills retreat where men gathered to dress as women. Their joy, their love, and their freedom of self-expression became the collection’s organising idea.
The juxtapositions continued under and over, tropical wool torn open to reveal exuberant feminine embroidery, workwear paired with delicate linen layers, sharp tailoring softened by removable collars and cuffs.
The inspiration shifted his aesthetic from quietly luxurious romance toward a bolder, punk-tinged femininity, shown in the gilded lobby of the Woolworth Building where his studio sits.
The idea of ripping, of becoming more yourself, Altuzarra explained, describing how someone might twist menswear into something that felt genuinely their own.
Optimistic colour, texture, and the liberating beauty of self-expression ran through an expressive collection, a freeing turn for a designer known for restraint.
Raw silk taffeta fifties skirts and twisted shift dresses opened the lineup, set against mannish workwear and biker jackets in exaggerated trapeze shapes.
