Palomo Spain Embraces The Closet For FW23

TUESDAY FEB. 14, 2023 12:30 PM NEW YORK.

After three years of absence, Alejandro Gomez Palomo, the creative director behind the flamboyant and sexy Spanish brand Palomo Spain, returned to New York City for his FW23 runway show “The Closet,” an homage to the fashion fantasies of his youth. In between his sales appointments, we called up Gomez Palomo for a quick chat about playing dress-up as a kid and his grand return to NYC.

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MACIAS: Do you want to do it in Spanish or English?

PALOMO: I don’t mind, do you speak Spanish?

MACIAS: Yes.

PALOMO: Come on, let’s do it in Spanish.

MACIAS: A pleasure to meet you.

PALOMO: Pleasure is mine.

MACIAS: How do you feel after yesterday’s show?

PALOMO: ​​I feel great. Today, I am beginning to savor it a bit, yesterday I was still in awe. But I’m starting to see what we did. Everyone I saw at the show and at night was happy and I am glad they had a lovely day. So I’m delighted, I’m really happy. Did you enjoy it?

MACIAS: I loved it. It was beautiful. I loved the juxtaposition of male beauty and softness. It was very pretty.

PALOMO: That’s what we wanted. Something beautiful and amenable.

MACIAS: Why did you decide to return to NYFW?

PALOMO: Well, because we wanted to leave Spain again. After the pandemic, we had only done two runways in Madrid. And we asked ourselves, What do we do? Do we return to Paris or New York? In New York, we feel that we have a faithful community, where every time we come we really notice the love of the people, and they welcome us. We think that Palomo fits very well with the language of New York’s streets and the people here. We love it. For September, it’s almost decided that we’re returning. Hopefully for the rest of our lives.

MACIAS: It felt like a family gathering.

PALOMO: And this was the first time after all that time. It has been like a dress rehearsal. We had a show in a small venue with music. We want to do big shows, you know? In Spain, we’ve cut off a main street, doing what we want. [Laughs]

MACIAS: Describe the after party vibes—

PALOMO: Oh my god. Gorgeous. Fun. Fresh. Youthful. Bello. The models were voguing, the hottest people you could imagine. I thought to myself, “How do I know all these people? Who are these gorgeous people!?” Pero me senti la persona mas afortunada del mundo.

MACIAS: Why did you name the show “The Closet”?

PALOMO: Well, look, it talks a little about when we were children. When you’re in your mom’s closet when she leaves the house, you hide, you start to try on the dresses and make a dress with a duvet, and wrap the towel on your head. All those moments before coming out of the closet, or even before knowing that you are inside [it]. That naive relationship that you begin to have with fashion, intuitive, innocent, without gender, without understanding dimension or sizes. That’s why there are all the pillow hats and a mixture of things—your father’s shirt with your grandmother’s Balenciaga dress from the 60s, with the coat that you stole from your father.

MACIAS: Do you have a favorite item that you used to wear from your mom or dad’s closet?

PALOMO: What I have is memories of when I was a little kid asking my parents for whatever I wanted. As a 4-year-old, I told my mom I wanted to dress up as a drag queen or a fairy. She made me the best costumes and I would wear pink or be dressed as a fairy in school. Those are the memories that started this collection.

MACIAS: Where do you eat in New York?

PALOMO: I get so fat when I come here. In Spain, we’re working out, on a diet. I love Balthazar. I always go there with my family to celebrate.

MACIAS: What does NY smell like?

PALOMO:[Laughs] A porro. Like weed. Tell me otherwise.

MACIAS: [Laughs] There’s a dispensary on every corner now. What would you say to your younger self today? 

PALOMO: Just be who you want to be. Your journey is there to be embraced. Really, I have been lucky to be a child who has always been very clear about what he wanted. I’ve been saying I want to be a fashion designer since I was three years old. In other words, I would tell that child to believe in himself, because things happen.

MACIAS: How many hours did you sleep last night?

PALOMO: Since I got to New York, maybe I’ve slept eight hours total in four days. [Laughs]

MACIAS: What’s in your system today?

PALOMO:  I’m fresh as lettuce, believe me. I got drunk at the after party, because I deserved it. Today I feel liberated and full of energy.

MACIAS: And what are you doing for the rest of your time in Nueva York?

PALOMO: I have buyer’s meetings all day, I want to go for a run and be alone so I can think. And of course, tonight, someone take me out! I’m going to party until Sunday when I leave. [Laughs]

Parts of this conversation were translated from Spanish to English.