Fashion

City Of Light: Altuzarra To Show During Paris Fashion Week

By Donovan | July 12, 2017 0 Comments

Altuzarra Fall 2017 Ready-To-Wear.

Joseph Altuzarra is the latest designer to leave New York Fashion Week for Paris! Thom Browne, Proenza Schouler and Rodarte already announced that they’re showing their upcoming collections in City of Light instead of New York.

The luxury women’s wear designer just revealed plans to show his spring 2018 runway show in the City of Light during Paris Fashion Week.

“I was born and raised in Paris and the city holds a very deep personal significance for me,” Altuzarra said in a statement noting that showing in Paris is in the interest of boosting international growth. “This has been a dream of mine since the very beginning and now the time feels right. I am honored to be invited by La Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode to show in my hometown of Paris.”

Steven Kolb, president and chief executive officer of the CFDA said Altuzarra and his ceo Karis Durmer had discussed their plans with the CFDA prior to the announcement. “It’s really a business decision on Joseph’s part and personal decision with Paris being his hometown. I believe I can say that with great confidence.”

Kolb noted that Altuzarra was a brand incubated in New York by the CFDA and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, as were Rodarte, Thom Browne and Proenza Schouler. “When a designer who started a business in New York and grew it to the level of success that they can take their show to Paris, there’s a real pride in that,” he said. “New York is still a very viable city and strong fashion week. We’re opening with Tom Ford and closing with Marc Jacobs with Calvin Klein among others in between.”

Altuzarra launched his brand in New York in 2008 and he won the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Award in 2014. In 2013 Kering took a minority stake in the company said to be 40 percent.

“Altuzarra grew up in Paris. His father is French and his mother is Chinese-American. He attended a traditional French lycée before moving to Pennsylvania to attend Swarthmore College, a small liberal arts school, where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in art history. At that point, his fashion experience was limited to working in a costume shop during college. He had no formal design training, and fashion didn’t become a serious career prospect until Altuzarra moved to New York. An internship at Marc Jacobs led to a freelance design position at Proenza Schouler, where Altuzarra crossed paths with patternmaker Nicolas Caito, for whom he apprenticed back in Paris. An assistant’s job with Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy followed.”