Altuzarra Fall Winter 2023 – 2024 at New York Fashion Week

Altuzarra Fall Winter 2023 – 2024, Supernatural and human, magical and real, the Fall Winter 2023 Collection takes us on an odyssey through a mythological landscape. Nature is both a means for divination and a force of its own. As the collection progresses, the natural world overtakes the human, reclaiming the body for itself. Altuzarra Fall Winter 2023 represents the final chapter in a four-part series focused on ritual and myth.

Nodding to Charlotte Higgins’ Greek Myths. A New Retelling, where myths are narrated through the point of view of the female protagonists, each print in the collection tells a story of its own while illustrating a broader evolution from abstract to figurative. The collection begins with bold amorphous artworks evocative of Rorschach tests and created with real folded inkblots. Soft, Shibori landscapes then come into focus, handcrafted with the Japanese tie-dying technique that has become a signature of the brand.

The collection closes with vegetal and botanical prints, inspired by scavenged flowers and leaves that were used for symbolic divination. The prints are carefully hand painted and meticulously engineered to mirror, and even replace, the anatomy of the body

Beginning and ending with the iconic parka, Altuzarra’s vision for modern femininity is expressed within the context of utilitarian outerwear. Borrowing from the language of 1950s and 1960s couture, coats and jackets feature dramatic peplums, oversized collars, and cocooning silhouettes. Exaggerated proportions speak to the confidence of the Altuzarra woman.

Altuzarra’s attention to the female form further shines through careful manipulations in material, achieved through twisting, knotting, and gathering. Eveningwear, a continued focus of the designer, is unexpectedly cut from supple leather and soft, draped jersey that wraps the body from head to toe. Minimal and monolithic column dresses and floor-grazing fishtail skirts convey the sensuality and ease that Altuzarra is known for with quiet drama. Draping and hoods, whose colors and moods also inform an earthy, jewel- toned color palette, evoke the dreamy world of Alma Tadema paintings.

Accessories add to the textured and crafted nature of the Altuzarra Fall Winter 2023 – 2024. The new Athena bag and minaudiere share an intricate woven leather hardware handle, while the raffia ‘Watermill’ Bag is reinterpreted in an artisanal dip-dye technique akin to Shibori. The nineties and early-aughts-inspired ‘Parka’ Bag, first introduced last season, is reimagined in jewel-toned satin. Altuzarra partnered with Mila Textiles to create intricately embroidered balaclavas especially for the show, in patterns and techniques that echo the collection’s prints.

Altuzarra Fall Winter 2023 Collection is presented under the stained-glass dome of the Celeste Bartos Forum at the New York Public Library. Concluding a two-year journey through layered myth and culture, Joseph Altuzarra challenges us to explore the beauty, meaning, and mystery of everyday life.