It was clear that Joseph Altuzarra's show, after Wang's, was THE show on Saturday. Anna, Carine, and Alex Wang all sat front row as white wine was passed -- honestly it felt more like a party then a show. Then the buckled leather bodysuits came out.
Honestly, when the first few strains of Altuzarra's runway music started, our hearts skipped a beat -- Edward Scissorhands has long been one of our favorite movies, and we'd recognize the sad, lilting theme music anywhere. The first looks only served to confirm the theme: buckled black leather dresses and bodysuits, black horse-hair embellished coats and jackets -- overall a very dark, moody collection. Then we spotted a few of the dresses he's become revered among the downtown set for: bodycon pieces in nude with delicate ruching.
As the show went on, the palette suddenly transformed from dark black leather to blood-red velvet jackets, pants, and long dresses, some embellished with glittering Swarovski crystals. Altuzarra later told us backstage that he'd been going with Scissorhands, but had also become obsessed with the current sexualization of vampires -- thus, all the red.
Overall, a cohesive and stunning collection -- we're not sure if we'll be wearing the black leather bodysuits, but the leather minidresses will certainly be making some appearances on celebrities, we'd bet. We also loved some of the exposed stitching (again, very Scissorhands), including some dresses that looked like their seams had been pulled apart, creating delicate lacing that looked to be just holding the neckline together.
