Joseph Altuzarra gave birth to his third child with his husband, which prevented him from attending Fashion Sunday in New York in September. Behind the scenes, however, everything went according to plan. The clothes pictured in these photos have been on sale to buyers since May, with part of the collection arriving in stores next month. It was designed with the same ethos as his fall shows, which marked a creative turning point in rejecting “total look” fashion in favor of personal style. During a showroom appointment, he said a short turquoise suede jacket and a cotton twill maxi skirt that together embody his new, more eclectic, down-to-earth style are among the wholesaler’s best-selling products this season.
“Our most important work this season is literature,” he explains. Altuzarra reads a lot of novels and maintains a staff book club. very bright creature Shelby Van Pelt and Loneliness is great Kristin Hannah’s books are two recent reads. On clothes, his love of books translated into paper textures, pleated details and prints, such as the marble pattern that adorned a shirtdress and the Yves Klein body paint that appeared on simple bodysuits. Other pieces feature images of fantastical creatures flitting across the waves and mountaintops, the result of a cadavre exquis project the design studio was involved in. Inspired by the paper crafts most of us remember making snowflakes from art class.
Swapping a sense of control for a sense of gaming can come in tricky fashion, but Altuzarra’s designs have always been rooted in recognizable archetypes. For example, paper yarns were used to create Alain sweaters, while flowing organza skirts with origami-like folding details were combined with cleanly tailored jackets with New Look waistlines. “We still want it to feel like there are a lot of different people,” Altuzarra said. He let his imagination run wild on an evening gown with an “almost Renaissance hip structure” and eyelet ruffles at the shoulder line that recalled the wings of a bird. Looks and collections filled with the energy of the protagonists.
