“There is something salacious about the current landscape of the industry,” said Joseph Altuzarra, referring to the celebrity circus surrounding today’s luxury superbrand fashion shows. “I kind of feel like I’m giving up.”
For the designer’s 15th anniversary New York Fashion Week show at his studio on Sunday, he’s returning to something simple and exclusive, with 70 people who have been a part of his life and career since Day One.
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She remembers well her first exhibition, which she received for free in February 2009, at a small art gallery, in exchange for gifts of clothing to the gallery staff. “I remember going to the ATM and withdrawing $650 to pay for hair and makeup,” she said during an early morning visit to her studio this week. “My mom was baking cookies, we had a stereo on the floor, and I literally pressed play when the show started.”
The content of his brand was there from the very beginning; sensuality and craftsmanship, with an occasional bohemian bent. In fall 2012, she set her sartorial tone by showing off her signature slit skirts and pea coats that customers still come for today.
The first of many flirty shirt dresses in blue gingham appeared on the runway in spring 2015, an appealing style that was both editorial and pragmatic.
And in spring 2016, a green tie-dye shirt became such a commercial success that it spawned a plan to have the dress of the season, while also debuting shibori dye as a recurring collection motif.
After running away to Paris for four years, Altuzarra returned to New York in 2021 after her outfits took an even more different turn, and she’s now more confident than ever about what she represents.
Last year, it opened its second store in Palm Beach, Florida, after its New York flagship. It has moved from a majority wholesale model to 50/50 wholesale and dtc, and its business is growing 30 percent year over year.
“This is our biggest year in our history and what’s exciting is that the product is really resonating. I think we really understand [better] Who is our customer and the way I design has changed. The show used to be the culmination of my creative process. And now the final point is the customer’s outfit.”
This resulted in collections being less influenced by themes. “I was really interested in this collection in the fall because of the idea of things feeling more collected over time,” she said during a preview. “I don’t think people will go into a store and buy a story anymore. “They buy and pick and choose the great piece, the coat from Celine, the great trousers from Phoebe Philo, the great jacket from Saint Laurent.”
If she had previously designed a black-and-white Harlequin hero dress like the one in her fall collection, it would likely have been part of a story with a pleated skirt and button-down sweater version — a sell-out offering, she said.
“Instead there is a unique piece that lives completely independently of the rest of the collection, which was definitely a new challenge. Retailers had already bought the collection and we weren’t quite sure how they would react to it. And I think they really loved it. “It’s more like they’re buying more stuff.”
It’s an approach many designers have adopted in recent seasons, from Alessandro Michele to Tory Burch while at Gucci.
The general idea for fall 2024 is to “look dressed up,” she said, using inspiration that ranges from equestrian wear (Altuzarra rides competitively in The Hamptons) to the glamor of Tamara de Lempicka portraits to Princess Diana.
Add an interest in theater and performance, said the designer, who has been a personal hero since Altuzarra and seriously considered pursuing professional ballet as a career while a student in Paris, name-checking Rudolf Nureyev.
The dress of the season is a sleeveless scarf print style with an abstract equestrian brushstroke print inspired by vintage scarves found in Paris. Double faced cashmere trench coats; peacoats; lush tailoring; silk bias-cut dresses and shell tops in different shades of ivory; variegated tops; All-over beaded burlesque style dresses and tuxedo shirts complete the products. Altuzarra’s bold metal horse-shaped cuff bracelets, inspired by a children’s teething toy, are wonderfully whimsical.
“I would be very happy if we had a Dries in 15 years” [Van Noten] business. I guess that’s kind of the way things are going. And what makes Altuzarra special — and of course I’m biased, but I think it also makes us stand out from our peers — is that we’ve always sold clothes to real people. I’ve never been one to chase after a brand or cool; I don’t know if this is my personality or not. I don’t actually care about being cool.
“Our real strength lies in clothing production, which is the core of our business, and I think there is huge growth potential in that. “What was interesting about doing things like the West Elm collaboration and the more of our projects that came out was that the brand really resonated with my community,” he said.
Los Angeles is the second market he is looking at for the store, after New York and Palm Beach. Also Charlotte, NC and St. It also achieves success by showing off its strength in secondary cities such as St. Louis. “Women are really hungry for fashion.”
While Altuzarra received a minority investment from Kering in 2013, they split amicably in 2020 and the brand has been self-funded ever since. “I still talk to them, they help almost like father figures,” he said. “So I have very good experience working with groups. “And that’s definitely something I’m open to doing again.”
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