Walking into the pre-show prep before Susan Alexandra’s New York Fashion Week event felt like familiar — and much-missed — before-times chaos. But then again, maybe not: Because true to form, the exuberant accessories brand, beloved by celebrities, influencers and the overall fashion crowd for its cheeky beaded bags, wasn’t doing fashion week the expected way. Owner and creative director Susan Korn decided (and down to the wire, apparently) to throw a standup comedy show, featuring the funniest, most envelope-pushing, and ultimately chic talent out there.

“I just started DM-ing everybody I know who’s really funny and that’s how I cast the whole show,” Korn, a longtime comedy fan, says as a flurry of makeup, hair and nail artists buzz around her. (“Can I go to the bathroom in these?,” she asks while observing her own silver glitter press-ons.) “These are people that I’ve literally not been able to get tickets to their shows.”

On the eve of NYFW’s official first day, the Susan Alexandra Comedy Hour featured 12 comics, such as Ziwe head writer and Shrill star Jo Firestone, “alt-comedy darling,” per Interview Magazine, and Celebrity Book Club co-podcaster Steven Phillips Horst, and Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman, the master impressionist who’s spoofed Ella Emhoff — and then faced the VP’s stepdaughter sitting front row during the evening’s event. (It wasn’t awkward.)

A comedic lineup felt synergistic as a showcase for Susan Alexandra’s upcoming line-up, as the pieces certainly bring out one’s inner child. The styles include new bags in new fabrications, like the Marie Antoinette-referential satin, and statement-making apparel, like cute little capes, beaded crop tops, and tunic dresses for layering. Not to mention, Korn always makes a memorable splash at NYFW to showcase her vibrant Instagram-friendly designs. In February 2019, she threw a Bat Mitzvah fashion extravaganza and for Fall 2020, right before the world shut down, Korn staged a heartfelt original musical starring some of her bold-name friends, including award-winning A Strange Loop actor Larry Owens playing her dog, Pigeon.

MC Larry Owens shows up a couple new Susan Alexandra bags.Sarah Schecker/Courtesy of Susan Alexandra

Recently seen as sneakerhead Zach on Abbott Elementary, Owens triumphantly returned to the fantastical world of Susan Alexandra to MC the designer’s show at the legendary Comedy Cellar. “I love the tons of barrettes because my hair is really long right now,” says Owens, during pre-show glam, pointing to a profusion of beaded butterfly clips almost fluttering above his Euphoria-style under-eye jewels and intense orange eyeshadow. “I actually would like to bring this into real life for a special occasion. I feel really pretty and really confident, which is how I like to go on stage feeling: just absolutely ready for an audience.”

Owens is known to bring bags from his personal Susan Alexandra collection on-stage during his hilarious sets — not just for accessorizing, but also wielding fashion to take a stand. “It’s just so awesome to be in these spaces as a radical femme — as a queer voice in comedy — and walking on stage with my bag in hand, as statement, like, ‘Here I am!,’” he exclaims, while clad in a vintage sequined tangerine caftan from The RealReal. (Designer pieces worn in the showcase, and selected by Korn, will be available to shop on The RealReal on Saturday, September 10.) “And, honestly, [my bag] is a bit of a scene partner, as well.”

Larry Owens, Marie Faustin, Sydnee Washington …….

Source: https://www.thezoereport.com/fashion/susan-alexandra-nyfw-spring-summer-2023