OC x NYFW: Altuzarra SS14

The plunging necklines in Altuzarra's Spring/Summer 2014 show were not exactly JLo at the VMAs-status [cue "Versace" please], but risqué enough to raise some eyebrows at your average workplace. Paired with high slits, these looks––on paper––would sound more slutty than chic. In person, however, the pinstriped fabrics, long silhouettes, sharp tailoring, and graceful draping amounted to the elegant woman who can pull off polished fatale that Joseph is known to dress.

The collection, inspired by the haphazardness of Japanese boro patchwork clothing, demonstrated considered assemblage. Trompe l'oeil jackets that appeared to be layered were, in reality, heavily worked pieces with stunning appliqués (such as corset-like buttoning and stitching)––easily museum pieces. The metallic stunners that closed the show, along with the jewelry developed in collaboration with Philip Crangi, lent a Byzantine vibe to the whole thing. Was anyone else getting Altuzarra FW09 from those looks, or was that just me? Either way, it's always a pleasure to watch the Altuzarra woman grow up and become increasingly refined season after season.

See our favorite looks from the collection below. And if you haven't already, turn up Sebastien Perrin's Showtunes that we got our hands on!

Photos courtesy of Style.com | E-mail SISI@OPENINGCEREMONY.US to be notified when the SS14 collection arrives at OC!