Altuzurra Fall 2025: Continued Character Development
Joseph Altuzarra has had a busy year since his last New York Fashion Week show last February. He signed on as Victoria Secret’s first Atelier Designer in Residence (his first capsule collection launches soon), took on a minority investment from Brendan Hoffman’s P180 and launched a rental service.
All of it has been enriching, he said during a preview of his fall 2025 collection, which doubled down on fall 2024’s character dressing approach through the brand lens of decorous romance.
“It’s less wardrobing in the traditional sense, and more like when you walk into your own wardrobe, you have things that were passed down from your grandmother, and things that you bought last week, and things that you wear when you want to feel sexy, things that you wear when you want to feel powerful and things that are funny,” he said.
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References spanned from the 1930s to 1980s, Princess Leia to Helmut Newton, dried flowers to smudged kisses left on a napkin. And seeing the looks come out, a whole host of chic personas sprang to mind, from the Upper East Side matron in an impeccably tailored navy blazer, cropped khaki pants and flats, to Auntie Mame in a fab saffron-hued balloon pants and top set.
There was loads of great outerwear, from the navy blue voluminous double-face cashmere cape coat opener, to the many, many shearlings (an emerging fall trend), including a trapeze-shaped moto and an elegant belted patchworked style mimicking a fur coat. Dresses ran the gamut from sweet layers of botanical print organza, to sexy body-con.
Other curiosities? A bulbous knit fringe skirt that could double as a pet, a silver gum ball-studded sweater that could double as armor, crystal-studded skull caps and origami bags.
The new rental service has allowed Altuzarra to monetize production of more extravagant runway pieces, he said. Whereas before, he’d have to consider if enough customers would buy a piece, now he can bank on those wanting to spend a quarter of the price to rent it for a fun night.
“I think there is so much cosplay happening. If you’re going to Aspen, you want an Aspen look. If you’re going to see Taylor Swift, you want your Taylor Swift wardrobe. You want your St. Barths wardrobe. But you may not want it forever,” the designer said. “I like offering things to different demographics. Plus, it’s interesting that a staggering percentage, something like 85 percent of people who borrow, actually end up buying. It’s a way for people to get into the brand without so much sticker shock.”
Launch Gallery: Altuzarra Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection
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