Blinding Self-Awareness at Altuzarra

Joseph Altuzarra never makes me want to go home and change.

He makes me want to rewrite my narrative.

We’re looking back 40 years for inspiration and have heretofore seen so many permutations of the decade that shall remain nameless, it is worth bracketing different genres within its ten year course to adequately divide the interpretations. But on Saturday night, championed by one of the truly smart New York designers, a reading previously unseen was delivered.

Cause of novelty?

Resolute self-awareness.

Altuzarra never strays from the path he’s paved in thigh high slits and tailored jackets and a reliable bravura of evening wear. For fall, there were semblances to the Victorian era with lace collars that were adjusted for, say, Bianca Jagger with their simultaneous slit chest openings and high waist, tailored pants.

The glen plaid rendered in tan and brown covered one of Altuzarra’s signature silhouettes: the tailored coat — in one instance performed with a thick fur collar that followed the coat’s lapels to the model’s waist line and once more as a short jacket, which punctuated that sense of awareness. There were velvet chokers shown with plunging, sleeveless necklines that countered the ruffle collars and studded boots: pointed toe, lace up, and almost made to rewrite Little House on the Prairie for a 21st century feminist.

Finally, there were sequins: gold on white or red or navy that historically positioned me somewhere between Ottoman Turkey and current Delhi then smacked me back to that fateful decade and forward to last night. Maybe that’s the genius of Altuzarra — a fashion Vitamix that seamlessly combines references and materials and most saliently, emotion but never allows you to lose sight of the varying tastes from its incipient ingredients. They might even leave room to make up your own story.

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