Podcast Summary: Let's Get Dressed

Episode: Joseph Altuzarra on 20 Years in Fashion, “NYFW Is Dead,” and His Year of Yes

Host: Liv Perez
Guest: Joseph Altuzarra
Date: February 23, 2026

Overview

Liv Perez sits down with acclaimed fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra, just days after his much-discussed New York Fashion Week show. Together, they explore the realities of staging a runway show, reflect on two decades in the fashion industry, and discuss independence, creativity, and the so-called “death” of NYFW. The conversation also touches on Joseph’s “Year of Yes,” the evolution of personal style, the business of fashion, and finding meaning and inspiration amidst rapid industry changes. Altuzarra offers candid insights about growth, creative processes, and maintaining a sense of intimacy and authenticity in both his brand and personal life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Year of Yes” and Creative Renewal

• Joseph’s Inspiration for Saying Yes
  • Sparked in part by the show “Heated Rivalry” and watching its actors’ relentless ambition.
  • “I was very, you know, had a lot of admiration for the actors themselves and how they're really, like, hustling. And I was like, wow. I haven't felt that level of hustle since I really started my brand.” (03:13 - Joseph)
  • Joseph is redirecting energy towards his own ambitions as his children grow more independent, feeling “recentered.”
  • He acknowledges the initial buzz of saying yes to everything can be exhausting: “I don't know. The year of yes might be, like, the month of yes.” (02:09 - Joseph)

2. Post-Show Emotions and the Need for Grounding

• The Emotional Rollercoaster of Fashion Week
  • Describes a “postpartum” comedown after the show — gratitude mixed with emptiness.
  • Importance of a life outside fashion: “You are never really done... you have to really build a life outside of fashion.” (05:33 - Joseph)
  • Family and friends outside of fashion keep him inspired and grounded.

3. Evolving Personal Style and Customer Relationships

• Shift in Power Dynamics: Brands & Customers
  • Customers now drive trends more than brands: “There’s been, like, a real flip in, you know, kind of power dynamic between the customer and brands.” (07:47 - Joseph)
  • Joseph has grown into his customer base — he now shares the life stages and routines of the women he’s designing for.
  • Modern Style: Celebrates fractured, idiosyncratic personal style over rigid uniforms. “There’s been like, an almost, like, fracturing of personal style in kind of the best way possible.” (09:10 - Joseph)
  • Collection details: Intimate, storytelling-driven details — e.g., a sweater with a silk scarf and brooch, inspired by “interesting, idiosyncratic ways that people wear clothes.” (10:48 - Joseph)

4. Intellectual and Artistic References

• Learning Beyond Fashion
  • Inspired by the Sally Singer quote: “If you love fashion…study art, politics, all these things.”
  • Latest collection drew from Velázquez’s Spanish Baroque art, Almodóvar’s emotional filmmaking, and Buñuel’s surrealism.
  • Strives for a balance: “I wanted it to feel editorial, but I did want people at the show to feel like they could recognize themselves in what they were seeing.” (12:10–14:24 - Joseph)

5. Fashion as a Cultural Predictor

• Is Fashion Psychic?
  • Fashion often seems to anticipate cultural shifts, sometimes coincidentally (e.g., last season’s Wuthering Heights collection coinciding with a film release).
  • He compares designers to sociologists: “You have to look at a group of people, their behavior...and predict what their behavior will be in six months or a year's time.” (16:34 - Joseph)
  • Admits designers are often wrong and notes the industry’s current uncertainty given world events.

6. The Creative & Business Process

• Building a Collection
  • Begins with a meeting to voice intuitive creative direction. Team collects references and inspiration objects (art books, rare finds).
  • Less interest in vintage garments to avoid derivative work: “It’s almost hinders my creativity, bizarrely.” (21:50 - Joseph)
  • Duality of intuitive design vs. business necessity: need for decisiveness and cooperation between design and merchandising.
  • “By virtue or it is like being a small company...we’re not making, like, thousands of samples and throwing them out.” (25:13 - Joseph)
• Type A Creativity
  • Both Liv and Joseph discuss struggles with type A tendencies: managing overthinking, perfectionism, and the pressure of data-driven feedback.

7. Taking Creative Risks

• Customer Evolution and Experimentation
  • Bodycon dresses, once core to the brand, gave way to looser silhouettes as customer preferences shifted—“It brought in a whole new customer base.” (27:43 - Joseph)
  • Not every risk pans out (e.g., exaggerated shoulders didn’t appeal to his audience), but experimentation is essential for growth.
  • “You have to know when to take the information and put it aside and have, like, freedom to try new things...” (26:24 - Joseph)

8. Two Decades of Fashion: Arrival, Alignment, and Independence

• On “Arriving” in Fashion
  • Altuzarra reflects on nearly 20 years of building his brand—from the myth of “arriving” as a designer to the ongoing pressure to reinvent.
  • “There’s never this point that you feel you’ve arrived, that you feel like you know yourself...I have the same [doubts], I just have been doing it for 20 years.” (31:40 - Joseph)
  • Straddling the line between “hot new thing” and mega-brand; value in remaining independent and true to one’s business scale and values.
• Family & Intimacy as Brand Identity
  • Leaning into a more intimate show format and familial traditions (books on seats, daughters involved) has strengthened the brand’s identity.
  • “By going much smaller and by...making the sort of guest list much more exclusive, it made people want to come to the show more than when we had like a 500 person show.” (40:04 - Joseph)
  • Anna Wintour told him: “Please never leave this show space. This is, like, the best space.” (44:21 - Liv quoting Anna)

9. The Realities of NYFW and Celebrity Culture

• Challenges of Independence
  • The distance between independent designers and mega-brands is growing, particularly regarding access to celebrities and paid influencer attendance.
  • “Anyone you're seeing at shows today is being paid to go...I think like a hundred thousand dollars is better spent on, you know, developing next collection than like on one person coming to the brand at this point.” (40:04 - Joseph)
  • The intimacy and exclusivity of the Altuzarra show is now seen as a strength.
  • NYFW is still vibrant, with strong, new American brands getting attention despite negative media narratives.

10. Navigating Industry Trends, Alignment, and Saying No

• Letting Go of Mismatch Opportunities
  • Stepping back from red carpet/VIP dressing if it doesn’t align with brand values or aesthetic: “It never really moved the needle as much for us.” (46:26 - Joseph)
  • Importance of “turning a blind eye” to cool/trendy things that aren’t a fit, managing comparison, and recentering on core priorities.
  • Journaling and therapy help sift through emotions: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” (48:48 - Joseph)
  • Social media’s impact on creative confidence and emotional health.

11. Advice for Emerging Designers

• Luck, Hustle, and Networking
  • Joseph credits some of his success to luck—e.g., his Marc Jacobs internship came from his last name being high on an alphabetized list: “Half luck, half a little bit of something else.” (52:07 - Joseph)
  • Top advice:
    • “Be doing it for the right reason...You really have to love the work because it can be hard.” (52:15 - Joseph)
    • Persistence and proactive networking matters: Shoot your shot, put yourself out there, attend events, and reach out to people you admire—even if it feels “cringe.”
    • “I appreciate that this person is trying and is persistent. And I will usually take the meeting.” (53:10 - Joseph)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ambition and Inspiration
  • “I was like, wow. I haven’t felt that level of hustle since I really started my brand.” (03:17 - Joseph)
• On Post-Show Emotions
  • “After the show…there’s a kind of like, emptiness a little bit…it’s almost like a melancholy feeling.” (04:19 - Joseph)
• On Today’s Personal Style
  • “There’s been like, an almost, like, fracturing of personal style in kind of the best way possible.” (09:10 - Joseph)
• On Creativity Versus Data
  • “The more data you get…can all almost feel like stifling…can be stifling and make you doubt yourself.” (26:24 - Joseph)
• On Arriving in Fashion
  • “You are never really done…there’s never this point that you feel you’ve arrived, that you feel like you know yourself, that you feel like you have a handle on things.” (31:40 - Joseph)
• On Saying No
  • “There are things that we, you know, like, we used to do a lot of, like, VIP dressing. Like, red carpet dressing, which honestly never felt like…the right alignment for us.” (46:26 - Joseph)
• On Luck and Opportunity
  • “My first internship…was actually just because the person hiring had alphabetized the list of applicants…with your last name being A, you were first.” (51:45-52:15 - Liv & Joseph)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:33] Joseph on The Year of Yes
• [04:19] Post-Show Comedown & Finding Balance
• [07:47] Power Shift: Brand vs. Customer in Style Trends
• [10:48] Details & Storytelling in the Latest Collection
• [12:10] References & Influence Beyond Fashion
• [16:34] Fashion’s Psychic Connection with Culture
• [19:22] Creative Process vs. Business Logic
• [25:57] Reconciling Type A with Creativity
• [31:40] Ongoing Journey: The Illusion of “Arrival”
• [35:06] Reality of Independence in Fashion Today
• [40:04] Celebrity Culture’s Impact on Fashion Shows
• [44:21] The Value of Intimacy and Familiarity in Brand Identity
• [46:16] Shedding Old Practices for Brand Alignment
• [52:07] Advice for Those Entering the Fashion Industry

Conclusion

Joseph Altuzarra’s candid conversation with Liv Perez is an inspiring look at the tension, evolution, and joy of independent design in a rapidly changing fashion landscape. He offers hard-won wisdom about individuality—both personal and professional—embracing creative risk, and the power of saying “yes” in an industry that often demands “no.” Whether you’re a fashion hopeful, an industry insider, or simply love a peek behind the runway, this episode offers valuable insight into the heart, hustle, and strategy behind an iconic contemporary brand.