Joseph Altuzarra Is Victoria’s Secret’s First Atelier Designer in Residence

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is returning this year, and along with a slew of high-wattage performers—including Tyla, Lisa, and Cher—the brand is also introducing New York–based designer Joseph Altuzarra as its first-ever atelier designer in residence. Altuzarra will create a series of ready-to-wear collections throughout 2025 to fully develop a complete wardrobe for the Victoria’s Secret customer. The first will debut at the brand’s fashion show next week.

“Thinking about what an amazing VS editorial-campaign moment is, it’s this level of sophistication and glamour that’s attached to inspirations from the red carpet and runway, and those are both things that Joseph excels at building,” explains Priscilla Polley, the AVP of fashion at Victoria’s Secret. “Partnering with someone who has an expertise in ready-to-wear allows us to create an entire world that our customer can actually see and think, Wow! This is Victoria’s Secret come to life! We’ve never done that before.”

Joseph Altuzarra is no stranger to adding a dose of lingerie-inspired moments to his collections. For spring 2024, a white satin bra peeks out from a blue satin blouse.

Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com

For spring 2011 a snakeskin-print bra adds a sporty edge to an elegant white satin skirt suit.

Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com

Feminine lace slip dresses have become a bit of a trademark for Altuzarra, as seen here on his fall 2015 runway…

Yannis Vlamos / Indigitalimages.com

… and his most recent collection for fall 2024.

Photo: Su Mustecaplioglu / Courtesy of Altuzarra

Although it’s certainly an unexpected pairing—Altuzarra is not necessarily the first brand one thinks about in relation to lingerie and sexy dressing—the designer reveals that he’s long considered what a collaboration with the brand would be like. “I was thinking about brands were really interesting within the fashion landscape today and that I felt had a lot of symbiosis with Altuzarra,” he says in a Zoom from his Manhattan office. “I happened to know the team at Victoria’s Secret, and I remember texting someone like, ‘Hey, I’m having this very random thought—what do you think?’, and the response was like, ‘Oh, that’s so funny, this is something that we’re talking about as well.”

The resulting collection is being kept tightly under wraps, but safe to say it will have Altuzarra’s signature take on femininity and strength—though we can expect to see some strong tailoring and more than a few feathers. “It was the very idea that Victoria’s Secret lives in this world of femininity and glamour, and questioning the idea of what is sexy and the traditional idea of womanhood was something that I found really interesting and had an affinity with,” says the designer. The pieces debuting on the runway will not be part of the ready-to-wear offering but are rather designed to fit in with the main idea of a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show—a fantasy. “The level of craftsmanship and couture from Joseph’s team is a big part of what we want to celebrate in this year’s fashion show,” adds Polley.

A lavishly embellished dress in a subtle floral print from spring 2019

Photo: Luca Tombolini / Indigital.tv

The Victoria’s Secret fantasy, after all, is where it all starts for so many. “There is a real emotional connection to the brand,” Altuzarra explains. “It’s where a lot of my friends bought their first bras, the place girls got their first perfume, and for a lot of gay boys like me, it was the first fashion show we saw, the first sort of really camp fashion moment that we experienced. So it’s been a dream to work with them.”