This past Monday, international It boy Joseph Altuzarra hit Toronto for a presentation of his gilded Spring 2014 collection. The term "It boy" might sound a little diminutive when it comes to Altuzarra's talents, but suffice to say, he's got the "it." In just 5 years, the Parisian born and New York based designer has gone from one to watch to mainstay, with a recent investment by Kering (formerly PPQ), one of fashion's largest holding companies. In town for Lunch With Margaret and George, an annual charity fashion put on by Yorkville boutique George C show benefitting The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, Altuzarra sat down with us exclusively for a pre-show interview in the spiny Galleria Italia of the Art Gallery of Ontario. After discussing recent Vuitton news ("great for them!") and how he spent his weekend in the city (visiting the Royal Winter Fair, omg) We got to chatting about the past, present and future for Altuzarra.
How has the last five years felt for you?
To us it doesn't feel like it went that fast. There was definitely a lot of work that went into it and effort and passion from the team. I think it's pretty much exactly how I wanted to develop the brand and now having this really incredible partner and being able to grow in this really considered way. We always wanted to really feel like we were putting one foot in front of the other and never really get ahead of ourselves. I think with this next step with Kering is a really exciting time for the company.
How did the deal with Kering go down?
They approached us about a year and a half ago and they were interested in a partnership. We spoke about working together and it was really just sort of an organic conversation, they really believed in the brand and they have this incredible respect for creativity and the creative process, which was incredibly attractive to me. It's been a super easy transition.
It seems like you've been business minded the whole way through…
Yeah, very much so. I'm involved in the business and I do think that being aware of [it] makes me a better designer. I love learning about the business, I think it's really interesting and each company is very very different. It's really interesting to learn about other companies and how that applies to you; how you can change things [to] develop in the most efficient way.
How would you describe Altuzarra in its simplest terms?
We dress a woman, not a girl. It's a very sophisticated yet pragmatic approach to clothing. I think we really have this sort of tension between what's aesthetically very desirable but that is incredibly functional and works for your life.
That's very American of you.
There's this part of it that's very American, because there is this idea of ease and this idea of pragmatism. But on the other side, because I'm half French, there's this side of me that is incredibly aesthetics driven. I think both come together to create something that's interesting and purposeful. A lot of times it will be about taking things that exist already, like a car jacket, or an engineer uniform and flipping it on its head and making it in a way that feels very us and but that feels more sophisticated and more grown up and feminine.
How has your taste been informed by growing up in France?
I think it's almost more of an approach to the women we're dressing. That's really where I see it the most. I think women in France have this way of carrying themselves, this relationship with their bodies which I find really inspiring; not necessarily wanting to correct your flaws, but wanting to highlight the things you like about yourself. I think there's also a way of aging in French women that I find really sexy. There's sort of this self-assurance in your body, in your age, not wanting to let go of your sexuality as you age, which I think is very much informed from my time growing up in France.
What was the spring collection about for you?
The inception of the spring collection was to find these Japanese fabrics that were made in this technique called "boro." The concept is that a Japanese fisherman would wear a jacket for his entire life and as the jacket would fall apart, they'd have holes and be mended over an entire lifetime. At the end of the lifetime, these jackets would look embroidered in a way because they were completely mended and patch-worked, but it was really that the form sort of followed the function. There was something really poetic about that narrative and something very humble and very beautiful that I thought felt really relevant and inspiring. A lot of the collection was about this idea of humility of fabric and playing with this idea of functionality and also playing with this idea of sort of something was more poetic that felt softer and more feminine in a way, and very summery.
Tell me about the metallic pieces…
The material is silk wrapped in metal, and those [pieces] came from a similar thought process, which was the idea of nonchalance and daywear. How do you make something feel incredibly evening feel incredibly casual? It's the way that it drapes, its the way it's constructed, it's that there's pockets that you can put your hands in, it's that there's something sort of easy about it in the attitude of it, and the construction of it and the entire collection sort of stemmed from that place.
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