Susan Korn, the bubbly personality behind accessories brand Susan Alexandra, is the talk of New York Fashion Week. Her colorful jewelry and beaded bags have catapulted her into fashion superstardom, with everyone from influencers to celebrities pining for a Susan Alexandra original.
Following her NYFW debut last season, where she presented New York-themed accessories at a downtown bagel shop, Korn chose this season to throw an adult bat mitzvah. With 500 of her close friends and family gathered in a room at the PUBLIC Hotel overlooking Manhattan's Lower East Side, she also took the opportunity to share an important announcement: Susan Alexandra is officially launching ready-to-wear.
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Along with a fresh stock of bags and jewelry, Susan Alexandra's spring summer 2020 collection will introduce a small line of clothing. Fans can expect everything from fruit-themed dresses and fringe two-piece sets to neon pedal pushers and beaded crop tops. "When I sketch — or rather, doodle — it’s always clothes that I draw," Korn told Refinery29 backstage before her NYFW presentation. "Ready-to-wear has always been something that I've wanted to do, but it was never time. This season, something clicked, and I was like duh, I have to do it."
"I don’t think that you’re ever 100% ready to take on a huge project," she explained. "I’m jumping into a big pond, so I just wanted to make a couple of pieces that I really felt excited about — things that I want to wear now and stuff that I wish I had for my bat mitzvah." That included a Baz Bagel feast, pizzas with her name on them, and the lime green butterfly top and pedal pushers she wore.
"My bat mitzvah theme was 'passion for fashion' and here I am, years later as a fashion designer in New York, so this occasion really marks my change into womanhood. Launching this collection marks me becoming a woman and owning my shit. I’m owning my power. And what better way than a bat mitzvah to mark that change?"
To help her bring the capsule collection to life, Korn called in friend and seamstress, Todd Heim. “The way that I do everything is I ask myself who else can I reach out to who’s talented, gets my vision and is a pleasure to work with? In this case, my friend, Todd was perfect,” Korn explained. “He helped me actualize everything and sewed the first samples for the entire collection."
Soon to be available on her website, the 15-piece debut collection is all under-$500 and just as vibrant, delightful, and IG-worthy as everything else the designer creates.