Rising Star : Joseph Altuzarra

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“It’s kind of Forties meets Eighties,” the young designer said after his concise runway show. “They are body-conscious clothes, but they also have an emotional element.”

A recipe for fashion stardom, is how I would describe Joseph Altuzarra. With his ravishing looks and a sensibility beyond his 25 years, its no wonder his following include Carine and Julia Roitfeld, Julie Gilhart, Vanessa Traina, and Hana Soukupova ~ just to name a few first class fashionistas. The young designer is making the right kind of waves, building up the momentum in a subtle way! I’m sure that working for houses such as Givenchy, Proenza Schouler, and Marc Jacobs have taught the French native a few of his tricks, but his work bears a positively distinctive direction from the work of each of those designers. His monotonous color palette works in his favor to accentuate the intricacy of the construction and draping of this collection and  is a great indication of his wisdom as a designer. I am very excited to see whats ahead.

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“I was an art history major who sent his résumé to Marc Jacobs on a whim. I feel like I’ve spent the past few years playing catch-up, learning what goes into making a dress.” Clearly, the 25- year-old designer is a quick study. Fashion’s inner circles championed his first collection, which he showed privately last season. Now Altuzarra is going public. He’ll be staging his fashion week debut with a presentation on February 16. “Mostly I’m continuing to develop ideas I started for Spring,” says Altuzarra of the upcoming collection. “I’m a real child of the nineties in that I look to designers like Helmut Lang and Jil Sander for inspiration. They never got into anything too theme-y.

It was all about making clothes that were just functional and attractive. I like working that way.” His favorite compliment comes via his clientele: when a woman says a dress makes her feel beautiful. The trick to making clothes that boost confidence, he notes, is often in the cut. “You know, a dress can be constructed in such a way that it literally makes the person wearing it stand up straighter,” he says. As for the designer himself, he’s getting a shot of confidence from his collaborators this season—fellow talented up-and-comer Eddie Borgo is designing jewelry for the presentation, and Fall 2009 marks the debut of Altuzarra for Gianvito Rossi shoes. “I like working with people who are at the start of their careers,” says Altuzarra. “That way, it’s not like anyone’s doing you a favor. And you all get to grow up and succeed together.” (excerpt courtsey of Style File ~ read their full review here)




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