Palomo Spain brings the heartfelt essence of the rose to New York’s Plaza surroundings for SS24.

The eye adjusts. That old fashion truism means that the genuinely new seldom shocks for long. Repetition tempers astonishment until what’s left is acceptance or rejection based on sartorial merit. Usually, it’s about a silhouette – Balenciaga’s sack; Mary Quant’s mini. More recently, the fashion eye has adjusted to something even larger than those two seismic shifts: genderless dressing. Not long ago, a runway populated by men dressed in laces, corsetry, flowing robes and high heels would have been the story of a fashion show, and the quality of the clothes a definitive beside-the-point.

But happily, sometimes the eye adjusts because the culture insists upon it. The Palomo Spain collection Alejandro Palomo showed on Saturday wasn’t about his nearly all-male casting, but about the beautiful, beautifully out-there clothes he created to spin an intriguing narrative.

Last Fall, Palomo examined his childhood, “so there was no sex at all.” This season he sought a full 180. “We are speaking about sexuality and romanticism, the two sides that live within oneself,” he said before the show. “The one that’s more driven by animalistic feelings and carnal adventures and the other one that’s much softer and feminine and romantic and delicate…they live together, and they create beauty.”

Speaking of creating beauty, Palomo titled the show “Cruising in the Rose Garden,” and sought to install a flower bower in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel. A rose grower in his home village generously donated and shipped 1,500 blooms from Spain, but when Palomo contacted an NYC florist to arrange them, the quoted price was $40,000. What to do? Recruit Mom and numerous friends. They did a lovely job creating several huge installations of roses, including two flanking a faux fountain.

This served as the backdrop for Palomo’s intense reverie that started with pristine whites. First look out: An embroidered camisole over wide pants with a fluff of feathers at the hips. This introduced a mélange of silhouettes, textures and embellishments: curvy sweater-and skirt combo zhuzhed up with 3-D flowers; sassy lace halter top and matching bellbottoms; sturdy cropped jacket over skirt, endless layering and countless riffs on lingerie, including a pair of sexy Mrs. Roper getups with flowing pink robes over spare white underpinnings. Another fetching ensemble: a sheer embroidered cami and matching Bermuda shorts over wide, faded jeans – part of an expansive denim lineup. While everything was sexy, Palomo announced his turn to the “more animalistic” side with a cropped jeans jacket and itty-bitty undies, with a snap-fastened triangle drawing attention to the family jewels. Then came a series of black looks with shots of red – bold leathers; floaty dresses and filmy, side-tied embroidered tabards; and endless lingerie elements, from elegant to raunchy, all styled for head-spinning overstatement.

Was it a lot? You bet. Costumey? Ditto. It was also filled with alluring, exquisitely crafted clothes. There was another duality in play as well – a collaboration with the Spanish brand Bimba Y Lola. While it was unclear which components were Bimba Y Palombo (the denim, perhaps?) those pieces will likely be priced well below the rest of the collection. Because whatever one sexual appetites, the appetite for fashion crosses all price points.