“It began when I read the book ‘The Teachings of Don Juan,’ which is a book that started the New Age Movement and published in 1968. It’s about Shamanism and entering the magical realm. I think it got me thinking about where can we find magic in our lives and the intersection of reality and imagination. It was sort of a trip — almost a hallucinogenic trip,” Joseph Altuzarra said following his spring runway show. The words of author Carlos Castaneda, as well those within Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire,” kickstarted the collection. “How do you take something so not tethered to this world and feels so imaginative or so divorced from reality? That’s what those pieces were.”
It sounded complicated, but on the runway, it was anything but.
“I really wanted this girl to go on a journey — I knew I wanted to open with a parka, and close with a parka and have it be this person who’s fully transformed throughout the process of the collection, Altuzarra added.
The effect was displayed on the runway through an evolution of strong sportswear with undone elements designed to “mirror those of intrepid explorers” — as in a standout slim blazer atop classic crew neck navy jumper and striped button down with matching loose-tied skirts, followed by shrunken vests and whipstitched jackets with corsetry closures, pleated skirts, cable knits, denim and button-front hem trousers — into luxe, bohemian attire in psychedelic riffs on now signature Shibori tie dyes, “hypnotic” prints and metallic lames. The range of hallucinogen hues was shown across body hugging and fluid dresses, knits, eye-catching tie-front shirts with matching miniskirts, tunics, and of course, parkas. The collection also recalled elements from his fall assortment — his cascading mermaid-esque pailettes turned into gypset accoutrements on layered-up finale looks.
And then, the journey — a strong take on modern sportswear and digestible bohemian craft with signature Altuzarra tropes— was complete.
