“I’m in my old lady era,” Susan Korn tells me from her colorful apartment on the Lower East Side. “I was just traveling in Italy, and the most inspiring thing was not the art, not the food, not the architecture—although those things were amazing—but the very put together Italian older women and men.” It was, she explains, their perfectly coiffed personas and the dignity with which they carried themselves. She found a muse, one might call it, for both her designs and her personal style.
Korn's own label, Susan Alexandra, has come to be known for its maximalist color palette and beaded bits and bobs. The origins of which happened a bit by accident. The Ohio native studied at Columbia College in Chicago, then dabbled her way through the fashion industry, interning at Jean Paul Gaultier and Interview. "Gosh, then jewelry," she pauses during an account of her career trajectory. "I really fell into jewelry." Korn hit her stride apprenticing with designers like Jill Platner, though honing her craft in areas like metal-working often led to more mistakes than successes—at least technically. The young designer would simply paint over imperfections and wear them as is. Her own body a walking billboard for her aesthetic endeavors, people in her community began to take interest. That side hustle slowly evolved into the whimsical world of Susan Alexandra. “People always say that my pieces are very kitschy and reminiscent of something else," she says. And "I feel that too. I don't love anything that's too modern. I like being a little bit behind the times in a very traditional, special way.”
Her home provides the perfect laboratory for all this creativity. Her kitchen cabinets reflect every color of the rainbow. Blobby light fixtures descend from the ceiling. The main wall houses floor-to-ceiling shelves lined with her collections. Beaded Susan Alexandra bags perch like sculptures next to books, tchotchkes, and framed photographs. The array of trinkets and treasures serves as an homage to the odd, the feminine, and the eclectic. "I like to have things that are inspiring really close," she explains. "I feel like I subconsciously see these things all the time. So when I have to design something, I can pull in all the colors and references without even trying."
The vibe of her own wardrobe isn't far off, either. Korn's wistful affection for the past translates to a closet full of vintage. “I feel like I was born in the wrong time, all the time,” Korn muses. She’s currently inspired by clothing of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, anything Louis XIV and ultra ornate—think Marie Antoinette adorned with lace and bows at Versailles. Her most popular vintage search term? Floral, just floral. In her multiple closets, you'll find collections of old Moschino (specifically of the 'Cheap and Chic' era), Issey Miyake, and Miu Miu, all of which she likely purchased from The RealReal, eBay, or Poshmark. "I really like something to feel like it could transport you to a different era," she summarizes.
This mixture of interests results in items like one pink and green rose-adorned lace-trimmed communion dress she found on Poshmark. "I feel my best in a dress," she notes. Another favorite look is a sparkly matching set she made based off an old fairy costume she found at an antique mart. But when she's running to the Bodega or walking her chihuahua Pigeon, it's paint-stained UNIQLO pants or loungewear from Suzie Kondi. There are days I wake up and I wish that I was one of those minimal girls who had perfect jeans and perfect white T-shirts," says Korn. "But I know, at my essence, that's not me." According to her, fashion should "delight." Click through the details of Korn's otherworldly closet and home below.
