Natural Curiosity. Altuzarra AW16

February 14, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

After minimal spring-summer 2016, Joseph Altuzarra surprised everybody with his bohemian and much more risky autumn-winter outing. The designer openly confessed that he began imagining the new collection in his head after seeing the cult film Only Lovers Left Alive (to which I have referred while reviewing Rodarte’s last season and Haider Ackermann’s menswear) by Jim Jarmusch. The film, which had Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston play romantic vampires, made Joseph think of their elusive and sometimes lethal curiosity. “They have very esoteric interests, and they live in a lush but isolated world. I wanted this show to be about trying different things not necessarily connected.” And indeed, Altuzarra is wildly mixing prints and textiles for the upcoming winter, which seems more than new for the brand. Paisley, leg-exposing skirts, embroidered red carpet gowns, tribal knits and bohemian dresses with oriental patterns feel bold and open-minded for different cultures.

For the Altuzarra fans, the signatures are here, too, but they were revamped with lovely embroideries and delicate floral applications – the femme-fatale silhouettes and tailoring is always on point in the designer’s collections, just like the nomadic outerwear. But what distinctly felt like a break-down from the super-sleek Altuzarra woman was the models’ hair – curls and afros looked natural and real. Note Alice Metza, Binx Walton and Imaan Hammam, please.

Sequin Party. Altuzarra Pre-Fall’16

December 3, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whoever said that sequins are overrated, did not consider Altuzarra‘s Pre-Fall 2016 collection. The unexpected paillette sequins, which covered the sporty jackets, mesh dresses and fancy midi skirts gave a bold bling-bling moment. Although this New York-based designer is rather known for his minimal aesthetic, the new look-book for next autumn is booming with colour. And an aristocratic, appealingly arty elegance. Lets not forget the subtle polka-dots on pastel blue t-shirt & pants set which takes it back to the label’s feminine codes. This might all sound like a very over-the-top collection, but the effect is totally different – the richly sequined pieces are toned with autumnal shades of brown and grey, making Joseph Altuzarra‘s new season a good choice for those who like a bit of fantasy in their cozy-knitwear-filled wardrobes.

The Sunset. Altuzarra SS16

September 13, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Not only Rosie Assoulin brought the sun to our lives through her collection. Altuzarra‘s spring-summer 2016 is basically a fantasy of vacations in Tuscany, with Italian wine and beautiful sunsets over the vineyards. Joseph Altuzarra always keeps the femme-fatale attitude (the unbuttoned shirt, flesh exposing skirts), but this time his woman was much more relaxed. Flawless dresses were kept in warm colours of ombre, orange and emerald-green. Intricate embellishments adorned peekaboo pencil skirts and slouchy, cotton blazers felt perfect for breezy evenings. The accessories game for Altuzarra is strong – by expanding his brand, the bags and shoes look even better and better each season – the bags with leather tassels are the instant must-haves. And the heels with espadrille finishes perfectly matched this laid-back collection.

Panama & Spring. Altuzarra Resort’16

June 2, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Joseph Altuzarra has his ups and downs. This time, it is definitely an up. For Resort 2016, the New York-based designer offered his women a heat-wave of bold shirts and beach-worthy skirts. That’s definitely essential to mention what he had put on his lovely dresses – stitches with swags of beads strung in the style of the Kuna tribe in Panama. Each string showed a different order of beads, but when they were arrayed next to each other creating a graphic pattern. “A black-and-white woven leather coat with color-blocked, chevron suede pockets required an equally astounding amount of handwork.” Altuzarra explained that it was the result of a branding project with the French art director Thomas Lenthal in which they stacked all the letters of A-L-T-U-Z-A-R-R-A into squares, creating a new dimension for the logomania trend.

Although it might be to early to tell, but the bags seem to be already the must-haves of Resort 2016 (note: we will see them really not soon in stores). They have that sophisticated luxury touch, combined with leather fringes. And the shoes, appliqued with feathers, were there too to make the entire collection be even more interesting than usual at Altuzarra.

Classy, Chic, Love. Altuzarra AW15

February 16, 2015February 16, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Although you might assume I didn’t like Altuzarra’s collection by looking at the picture above, you’re mistaken. The shoes on the left are the original Altuzarra lace boots that walked the runway two days ago; while the ones on the right are the super kitsch shoes from faszynfromraszyn.pl, where I sometimes compare fashion trends… but back to the collection – the shoes are the only thing that felt bad in the entire collection. Rest? Best collection by Joseph Altuzarra up to date of his career. It perfectly highlights his biggest signatures – femme fatale mood, feminine silhouettes, chic must-have clothes. With a dose of appealing masculinity for AW15 (tweed!), Altuzarra mixed tailored trousers with collared sheer shirts fox-fur jackets. Fur is a big thing in the collection, too – the super fluffy jackets look like clouds elevated around the models! Anna Ewers look (the pink one, you are going to spot it easily) wins everything.

A major thing for Altuzarra are the bags – with a Woodstock festival attitude, the fringed leather bags definitely will be everywhere – possibly, a significant and iconic bag from America is going to conquer the world? Gucci, take notes. Hah, even the sex-appeal of the clothes slightly remind that Tom-Ford-at-Gucci look… definitely not the gender-fuse one which is boosted by Alessandro Michele at the moment. Coming back to Joseph – now, he’s earning the higher level in the international fashion. Delightful.