Altuzarra has gained a reputation for mixing the elegant and the flirtatious. Creative director Joseph Altuzarra's new bag, aptly called the "PLAY," embodies this juncture. The exaggerated, slack boho shape makes the bag feel like a casual, fun item you grab on your way out the door, while the fine leather and symmetry retain a classic, luxury feel. In addition the oversized spine of buckles, according to a press release, inspired by bondage straps, offer a rigid modern metal twist to the soft fleshy material and hippie shape.
"When I was designing this bag, I looked to reframe the way we approached leathergoods and what a handbag means to women today," says Altuzarra. "I wanted to create a luxurious bag that works for women's everyday life but feels sexy and exciting at the same time. The bag evokes the two sides of the Altuzarra woman's identity: the public persona, classic and timeless, and the hidden alter ego, darker and undone."
It was only fitting that Altuzarra sought out model-turned-photographer and queer nightlife icon Ethan James Green, an artist known for his intimate and often erotic portraits, to capture the bag's sensuality.
Emphasizing its bodily curves, Green shot the bag draped on nude models, echoing their natural shapes — and twisted up in subtly bondage-evoking, or at least post-coital silk sheets. Like the bag themselves, Green's portraits are stark and sculptural, yet playful and flirty. The models, un-photo-shopped with visible moles, freckles and stretch marks, strike relaxed poses, comfortable and unashamed in their sensuality, an evident metaphor for the attitude Altuzarra hopes to inspire.
The 'PLAY' bag is available now, and Altuzarra will open a new NYC pop-up on Friday. Check out the campaign below:
Photos: Ethan James Green for Altuzarra
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