When Alejandro Gómez Palomo launched his eponymous brand in 2015, after wowing the press and buyers with his graduation collection, “Je t’aime moi non plus,” that combined masculine tailoring blended with feminine lines inspired by traditional Spanish costume tropes and London’s edgy scene, he disrupted the market by introducing clothing with a feminine side but fitted to the male physique. As the label hits its decade mark, the designer is introducing the styles he initially proposed for men as the basis for a new womenswear collection. However, in typical Palomo style, the designer aims to offer a collection where anyone can wear any of his offerings. FashionNetwork.com caught up with the Spanish designer and CEO Rosella Lopez Norzi as they introduced the collection to the press at the Park Terrace Hotel in Manhattan.
“I’ve focused on men as there were many things that needed to be done for men’s dressing since they hadn’t been able to wear certain styles. I have a lot of female customers and a few in the shows. Still, we weren’t marketed as womenswear,” the designer said of his namesake label, adding, “Now that I’ve built my community, my confidence and everything, it was time to focus on women; it felt so natural. Now, I wonder why I haven’t been doing it sooner.”
Palomo pointed out that the presentation showcases both men’s (aka genderless) and women’s styles for Resort 2026. “It’s the idea of the same kind of coats and aesthetic. Almost wearing the same clothes but just being fitted in different bodies. You have a version of these, which would be a cute women’s cropped top, and the men’s version resembles a white men’s shirt,” he noted while flipping through the racks and pointing out key styles.
“It just started to make sense to put them on a woman because it would be easier to be understood and sold like that. But the ideas kind of repeat one another,” he said, referring to the brand’s Andalusian codes. Think Sevilla Flamenco, ferias, polka dots, ruffles and music, for example. “It’s not being folkloric but taking codes and making them modern,” he said.
Key looks are an asymmetrical ruffle dress style based on an early dress made for men that many women adopted at the time; nipped waist and exaggerated hip tailored jackets for men also translate easily for women; cocoon-like cape details pay homage to Balenciaga on shirts and gowns; the Spanish mantilla as a detail on a tailored trouser, achieved through precise construction techniques, or as a camisole and tap pant or a puckered detail on top and dress that relates to a men’s version. Leather also plays a role in the brand. It balances the sensual and subversive. “I always play the romantic and the sexual, the night and the day. Both customers wear everything.”
In looking at an allover signature velvet button detail on just the front side and not the back side of a knit skirt, Palomo credited his new CEO Lopez as helping to design for the female customer and her clothing needs.
In that sense, Lopez Norzi, whose CV includes DVF, Ralph Lauren, Figue and, most prominently, 11 years at Cushnie et Ochs, where she served as president of the brand, is crucial to the next trajectory for the brand whose celebrity following includes Rosalía, Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga among others.
One of the tasks at hand is moving the company and the entire team from Córdoba to Madrid. “Most of the team is from there. Alejandro and I feel that we’re missing talent that we could retain if we were in Madrid. Part of the growth of this business is getting the office centralized in Madrid, the center of Spain. The PR firm there would benefit from it because it would be easier if we want to do events or if we want to do a meet and greet. Communication with Madrid is easier than having to go back and forth. Also, as I have been based in New York for 15 years, it will be easier to get to.”
Palomo will probably be excited to be closer to the cultural institutions that have had a role in his runway shows and inspiration. Case in point: a recent trip to the Prado to participate in a creative perspective on an upcoming Paolo Veronese exhibit that led to a surprise viewing of a special Velázquez painting in the museum’s restoration room.
The move also sits well with Palomo, who is attuned to the city’s current cultural renaissance while retaining its charm.
“You can still get a quality of living there. It is becoming expensive but not crazy expensive. It’s still attainable. You can meet up with friends and have a beautiful, gorgeous lunch. Everything is easy, and it still feels very familiar, like a village where you see your neighbors in the neighborhood and still say hello,” he continued.
“The space is going to be available to us on July 1, so maybe by the fall, we will be relocated there,” said Lopez Norzi.
In the meantime, Lopez Norzi is focused on increasing the wholesale business as it has primarily been DTC.
“The collection that we produce is sold online. We also do a little bit of made-to-measure, but we want to focus on wholesale distribution next,” she said, noting that she is setting her sights on stores such as Net-a-Porter, Mytheresa, FWRD, The Webster, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s.
“Customers love the ease of shopping at Bloomingdale’s. They love entering the store; the music is upbeat, and a certain vibe resonates with many people. Every time I go there, I think, ‘It’s so lovely here.'”
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