Susan Alexandra Launched Her Debut Ready-To-Wear Collection During NYFW
The first time I met Susan Korn (i.e. Susan Alexandra) was in 2016 over Instagram DM. At the time, I had been writing poetry about my dating life and sharing it online so Susan reached out to share a poem about her own relationship woes. We bonded immediately over emotionally unavailable Jewish men and kitschy fashion.
In those days, Susan’s work mainly focused on colorful and conceptual metal jewelry pieces while she often hosted pop-up events throughout New York as a way to spread her magic, aka creative work. Immediately upon getting to know Susan and attending some of her events, I was taken by her approachability, warm energy, and sweet sense of style. When she launched her beaded purses in 2017, I like many of her friends, was delighted to watch her skyrocket to IG fame. Quickly, her elaborately beaded fruit and animal print creations took over my feed, being donned by everyone from Gigi Hadid to Suri Cruise.
Now, with years of accessory design under her belt, Susan is entering the next stage of her brand, launching her very first collection of Susan Alexandra Ready-to-Wear during NYFW. Following her first NYFW presentation last February, which showcased New York-inspired bags (the pretzel and I heart New York bag are seriously iconic) at a bagel shop, when it came to planning something to celebrate this occasion Susan felt called to host an adult Bat Mitzvah party.
Why? As a designer, Susan is experiencing a major coming of age moment so the theme perfectly matches her brand’s evolution as well as her own self-growth. “The Bat Mitzvah theme works on so many levels for me. Bat Mitzvahs mark the evolution from one stage of life to another,” the designer told Teen Vogue a few weeks ahead of the presentation. “We're releasing my first line of clothing and it feels like my line is growing up, moving on to the next stage of life.”
The event, which took place yesterday at PUBLIC hotel in New York, was true to the designer’s nostalgic aesthetic — there were pink balloons, glitter and crystal decorations, and pizzas with her name written inside a Jewish star. There was a lesbian Jewish Klezmer band, towers of beaded bags as table centerpieces, a massive balloon version of her Petit Ma Cherie Bag, and of course, a diverse cast of models. This included actor and comedian Benny Drama, rapper Tapz, comedian Cat Cohen, and hairstylist Masami Hosono, who all donned the new clothing pieces. Queer Jewish activist Adam Eli served as the “rabbi” wearing a Susan Alexandra beaded kippah (a traditional head covering Jewish men wear), welcoming the crowd to Susan’s bat mitzvah.
Wearing a rainbow butterfly halter top, kelly green pedal pushers with beads running down the sides, beaded heels, and of course, a multicolor beaded purse, the designer thanked the crowd for coming, saying, “When I make something I think about how people feel about it, and it’s amazing that you feel connected to that and to have all of you in this room.” The space was full of childlike joy and magnetic spirit, which is not all that typical for NYFW shows. After Susan’s short speech, the crowd broke out into a full-on dance party, starting with the Horah (a traditional Jewish dance) in which Susan sat on a chair and was lifted in the air, moving into a rendition of “The Electric Slide” and then 90s songs by artists like NSYNC, Spice Girls, Brandy and Monica, and Enrique Iglesias.
When it came to designing this collection, Susan tells Teen Vogue that she, “approached it as an opportunity to re-imagine my bags as clothing.” With only 15 pieces in her first RTW collection (after all, she’s still a small homegrown brand), Susan created a white blouse with an exaggerated collar and cherries on the pockets as well as skirts and pedal pushers with elaborate beaded details. There are also beaded bra tops that perfectly complement her purses, a baby pink dress with fruit applique, and a purple one with beaded clementine details like her “Clem Bag”, as well as a green slip dress with daisy applique. All of the pieces, which were made in collaboration with her friend, Todd Heim, aka Steak Diane, who helped her with the costumes for her last presentation, will be under $500 and available on her website.
In Judaism, a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is a symbolic ceremony in which a boy or girl is thought to “officially” become a man or a woman — while the gendered aspect is a bit outdated, it’s the coming of age concept that deeply resonates with Susan since it was the Bat Mitzvah parties she attended as a teenager that initially inspired her love for fashion. Susan recalls, “It was my first time going out into the world and really expressing myself with clothing, shoes, jewelry, bags...I remember the desperate need to unveil a new look at each party.”
As a Jewish girl I, too, recall the many elaborate parties and outfits my seventh grade year involved (it remains my most social year to this day), as well as the pivotal experience of becoming a B’nai Mitzvah. Susan sums up the experience perfectly, “It’s a time when you are shifting through your power.” And that is exactly what she is doing with her brand. Now, with a full team of employees and major retailers like Saks and Moda Operandi carrying her highly coveted goods, she’s growing up, and that means taking risks and getting outside her comfort zone by designing clothes.
Though the designer has dabbled in clothing with a past collaboration with Champion and Urban Outfitters, as well a recent collection with French mother daughter design duo MaisonCleo, this new collection is distinct in that it is her first time doing clothing on her own, which, as a young designer, is no easy feat. It is for this reason that she is starting by ordering smaller amounts of the pieces.
Still, the move into clothing has been a long time coming. “Clothing was actually what I have dreamed of since I was little but I was too afraid to do it. I'm throwing the fear to the wayside and going for it,” she says. So, how did she know it was the right time to take the leap? “It was a soulful gut feeling of knowing it was time to evolve and add more to my repertoire.” It’s no secret that Susan is a deeply spiritual person, explaining that she manifested every single thing in this first collection. “I want to make clothes that brighten your lives.”
In addition to the clothes, Susan is also debuting a new range of accessories that “push the beads into a new realm”. This includes a new bag shape called a Pipette, which Susan imagines Barbie would wear while there’s also faux leather bags. What informed these pieces? “I thought of what my mom would want to wear and what I would want to wear and threw in some Jackie O' inspo and that's how we arrived at the shapes and colors.”
Though her items have become an accessory many “it girls” wear, Susan loves it when she sees random people carrying her bags or friends message her saying they saw someone on the subway wearing one. “I want my bags to become part of people’s lives,” she says. And that they do. In a time when we’re experiencing a collective doom and gloom mood, Susan’s pieces let us adults have a little fun and remind us of the magic inherent in each of us.
Susan’s Jewishness isn’t something she often talks about, but the designer says her connection to it is very closely linked with her approach to designing. “The warmth, inclusivity, humor and soulfulness of Judaism is something that I feel describes my work and brand,” she says. Growing up with a mother who speaks Yiddish and is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, sparked something major in Susan — the impulse to make things that are not only cathartic for her to create, but healing for people to wear. She likes to describe her designs as “joyous, happy, and protective.”
“Being Jewish is such an innate part of the way I was raised and who I am and what my line is all about,” Susan says. In regards to her adult Bat Mitzvah party, Susan hopes it immersed people in a part of her life that she truly treasures and adores. The only thing missing from the occasion? The awkwardness of being a pubescent teenager.
So, what’s up next for the designer? Susan, who has funded everything on her own dime, says it’s time to get some investors to take her business to the next level. Item-wise, she hopes to add pet products and shoes soon, then move into fine jewelry and home decor, and eventually open up a brick and mortar. She imagines the shop to be like everything else she does — colorful, fun, sparkly, and a chance to grow a community. “I've got a massive to-do list and plans to create a machine that can make 7 more of me,” she says.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
