ALL ABOUT JOSEPH ALTUZARRA & HIS TOP FIVE FALL/AUTUMN PIECES

Posted by Melanie Fashion Editor at Large

I had the pleasure of meeting up with the NewYork based designer Joseph Altuzarra this afternoon at Browns where he was doing a trunk show and meeting customers and members of the press. 

                             

Me and Mr A

Still only 28 years old,  Joseph is currently on the kind of awesome - and it has to be said pretty mental - upward trajectory which only happens to one designer every few years. Joseph (never Joe) is the current recipient of the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund and won $300,000 last year to grow his four year old business. He is also, much to his chagrin, a bit of a fashion IT boy. Well, you've gotta love a designer who poses draped over a chair in one of his own snakeskin dresses, right?  

Hawt! Joseph Altuzarra shot for W Magazine

Don't let his chair work or penchant for wearing dresses give you the idea that he is a good time boy; Mr Altuzarra is certainly no intellectual lightweight and he is a worker, obsessed with his craft and constantly pushing personal boundaries with his work.  When I ask if he is happy being in the public eye, he admits "I don't want to be 'the hot designer' because that means one day the limelight will move onto someone else. I want a slow and steady progression. Look," he says leaning closer, "doing press is part of the job, but to be honest my favourite place to be is at home with my boyfriend [Seth a property dude)]and my [Schnauzer] dog Bean, watching TV.  Joseph used his prize money extremely wisely. Both his parents are investment bankers, so he knew exactly what to do, which was to move to larger offices and hire a production manager. Smart. 

That he spent the first 18 years of his life in Paris with his Chinese American mother and French father proved the starting point for today's conversation, which swiftly took us from French parochialism onto the inspiration behind his accomplished and trend-setting Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, one of my personal highlights of New York Fashion Week. 

Joseph Altuzarra Autumn Fall/Winter 2012 

One of the best everyday fashion looks for the forthcoming Autumn, hands down.

JOSEPH ON HIS FALL/WINTER 2012 COLLECTION + FRENCH PAROCHIALISM

"The starting point for me was looking at the way France is evolving as a nation. I think there are a lot of problems relating to national identity emerging as a result of the elections. French style, for example, is heavily influenced by North Africa and Asia, but actual French society is obstinately French. I guess they are focusing too much on immigration, instead of looking at integration. In the UK and USA I see 

integration. This whole idea of integration fascinated me, which reminded me of a cartoon character from my childhood called Corto Maltese. He is an iconic figure in French culture, a quintessentially French sailor who travels the world to brings back new ideas." 

As you can see Corto Maltese also likes a pea-coat, which happens to be one of the key motifs of Altuzarra's new collection. 

Corto Maltese 

ALTUZARRA ON HIS DESIGN PROCESS 

"When I am designing I try to take the best of the European and American sensibilities. There are great ideas on both sides of the pond. The design process for me involves pushing ideas through to their ultimate conclusion. Pushing the fashion hard, you know?  I guess, though, ultimately I always start with the idea of desirability. The idea of 'If I were a woman what would I want to wear right now?'   

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA'S "IF I WERE A WOMAN" PERSONAL TOP FIVE FROM HIS FALL/WINTER 2012 

"A pea coat, buttoned up and looking strict"

"Cargo pants tucked into a knee boot."

"I loved the white sweater with the fringing and coins"

"The Indian tiered dress. This a good example of taking it to the max. We pushed it with the cut and controlled drape of this dress, then just kept pushing it further and further. We pushed shape, fabric, embroidery and print. We got there. That's where the opulence in my collection came from. I've pushed things before like our cone breast cups, and these did not work at retail, but have been popular with the press. So in the end it became a strong brand statement. You've got to push, even if you end up at a dead end. " 

"My cheongsam inspired dress with the white cravat and thigh split; I love the controlled elegance of it."

With that, the IT designer whose greatest fear is being an IT designer, leaps up to meet two customers who have booked in to see him. Tonight he is off out for dinner with his good friend and London based designer Erdem.

WHAT TO BUY FROM JOSEPH ALTUZARRA NOW: all from Browns 

 Jersey panelled skater Dress £895

Chunky cotton knit lime Jumper £540

Techno Nylon jacket £1515 

All from BrownsFashion.com

With thanks to Zoe and Sarah at Zoe Communications & Browns  

COLOUR.... MY EYES ARE DANCING

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Bright eyes... Meadham Kirchhoff beauty looks from AW12 (image from www.lloyd-evans.com)

Maybe it's the sudden turn in the weather from bright to dismal, or perhaps it's the amount of time the FashEd and I spend looking at the specifics of colour in our consultancy projects, or it could be that walking into most stores at the moment involves being confronted with such powerful, undiluted palettes. Whatever it is, my eyes have become addicted to complete overdoses of rich and saturated tones, whether it is the tangerine neon of the jumper I bought the other day, or the bloody rich maroon in J.W Anderson's AW12 collection, the picture of which I just cannot stop looking at. I feel like the pastel trend which so dominated the SS12 catwalks hasn't quite hit my consciousness yet. In fact, in a few weeks time these could become a diluted antidote to the intensity which is pervasive in my mind right now.

My colour obsession... JW Anderson AW12 (image from catwalking.com)

The road to York through Sledmere by David Hockney 1997 (from www.hockneypictures.com)

It was on a visit to the Royal Academy's David Hockney exhibition (a few days before it closed) a couple of weeks ago that I felt like my colour channel was  properly attuned. The only way I can even begin to describe the feeling of looking at a Hockney painting is that it makes your eyes dance, so vibrant are the colours and the ways they're combined. The images which I have included here do not even begin to visually describe the effect of seeing a Hockney original. I would love to know how he achieves this insanely concentrated bouncing-off-the-canvas-it's-so-bright effect.  His eye transforms the gentle browns greys and greens of the natural landscape into cyan blue leaves, lilac roads and pink skies. They're delicious and unexpected combinations.

More felled trees on Woldgate by David Hockney 2008 (from www.hockneypictures.com)

And the book I most want to read right now? A Pantone Colour Book. Odd, I know given 
that I'm more often found with my nose buried in classic literature but the thought of looking
 at that faded, brownish paper and uniform black type just makes my heart sink, especially
 when I could be poring over seven pages of 'pink' representations. 

I like to think that this new found colour obsession might be my version of patriotism, 
given the upcoming Jubilee, bear with me here. One of the highlights of this month's 
Vogue is the back page on which the magazine charts Her Majesty's colour choices 
over the course of a year. It looks to me like The Queen might also be a fan of the Pantone 
book, so considered are her head-to-toe choices of hue, from the palest of lemon curd 
yellows to the rubiest of Wizard of Oz reds she seems to have worked her way through 
them all. I can imagine her handing her circled colour choices to her dressmaker Angela 
Kelly as reference guide to her latest outfit creation.  

Devastatingly, I don't have my own Angela Kelly to rustle up something in my latest
 colour whim so I will amuse myself a while longer looking at my new favourite Tumblr,
 RAINBOW C-O-L-O-U-R-S

The Queen in colour (image from www.dailymail.co.uk)

THE RETURN OF BLING: FASHION GOES GEM-TASTIC

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

The most worn and blogged about fashion item of this Spring has been the Prada satin-collared bomber jacket covered with colourful chunky stones. During the catwalk shows I lost count of the number of people - both male and female - who owned one, and each individual jacket seemed unique to the wearer. That is the power of a gem; they become part of you. It is also the power of Prada. Every time I saw one on someone I become mesmerised to the point of childlike awe; I need one of these jackets in my life, as entertainment if nothing else.  

Miuccia Prada tends to roll out an influential corker for the summer season, and a more commercial collection for winter. This summer's Prada collection may have revved up the high street with its Vroom-Vroom car iconography but it also, it turns out, has influenced the most directional catwalk designers for Autumn from Lanvin to Vuitton, Nina Ricci to Versace, and we're not talking about the cars, but the hundredweight of bling.  Miu Miu and Prada carried on showering chunks of rock onto their clothes for Autumn.. but scroll down and you will see how the rest of the high fashion firmament lost themselves to the power of opening fire with equivalent of an AK 47 loaded with crystal ammo. 

This all marks the return of bling, something the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China  - who are all in the throes of a boom time, will love and indulge to the max. In the Western market partaking in this trend will be done with more than a sense of irony. 

THE PRADA JACKET 

Prada 

More Prada

Even more Prada 

You guessed it... 

Street style blogger Hanneli Mustaparta mixes Tom Binns bling with a varsity jacket

More Tom Binns.. (All the above photos by the inimitable Tommy Ton for Style.com)

AUTUMN/WINTER 2O12 GEM-TASTIC OFFERINGS

Prada AW12 (image from www.jasonlloyd-evans.com)

Dolca and Gabbana AW12

Lanvin AW12

Lanvin AW12

Marni AW12

Nina Ricci AW12 

Versace AW12

Louis Vuitton AW12 (all catwalk images from www.catwalking.com)

THINGS TO BUY NOW... 

Jewelled sandals £58 Topshop

Gem sandals £40 River Island

SHOW AND TELL: TOPSHOP AW12

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Every time I enter Topshop Oxford Circus, my heart flutters a little, well quite a lot actually. This is because Topshop was the first place I got properly excited about clothes, a place I could go and drown entirely in the possibilities and options calling out to me across those three huge floors. Autumn/Winter 2012, and this summer for that matter, are going to be seasons to get really excited about a trip to Topshop. In fact, those of us lucky enough to go to the Unique show during February's LFW have been in a thrall since we saw the luxe military, shearling and bomber coats parading past us as part of former Vogue Fashion Director Kate Phelan's first collection as Creative Director.

I went along to Topshop's press day this morning where I heard plenty of fashion press discussing which jumper/ coat/ trouser they'd be ordering.

The neckline on this red crosses jumper is going to look bang on for AW12.

Melanie is ordering one of these

That low polo neck again, this time sportier. I wanted to wrap myself up in this quilted, animal-y jumper.



One of the best things about the Unique collection is the heavy, layered up theme which runs through. It makes it look and feel properly high end.

Melanie's favourite bomber, she wants the coat version too (greedy girl)

My personal favourite- zippy shearling...

Double breasted bomber.... Genius. 

AND there were highly covetable accessories...

It wasn't just the Unique collection on show today. Richard Nicoll has worked with Topshop on a small collection of bridal wear which is going to launch in June. There are no pics allowed yet, but expect baby doll and nightie shapes in wedding white as well as sweet pastels. A very refreshing alternative to frou frou frothiness and really rather bargainous at around £300.

Next Friday sees the launch of Maarten Van Der Horst's collaboration. If you like the Fashion East designer's Hawaiian shirt spin offs and bright colours then you'll love the Topshop line. I've got my eye on the tailored Bermuda shorts. Alex Fury wrote all about the trend for Hawaiian prints in last Sunday's Indy.

Finally, if you're still searching for perfect pyjama then never fear, Boutique is coming to the rescue. I immediately made a mental shopping list for the red overblown paisley print tee and shorts which will hit stores in May.  Oh Topshop, you do spoil us. 

All images by Fashion Junior at Large

SKY SCRAPING: FASHION GOES CORPORATE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Jonathan Saunders AW12 is shown against the backdrop of the London skyline (image from magazine.motilo.com)

It began in London on the Sunday afternoon of fashion week when most people were probably at home enjoying the final remnants of the weekend. For the fashion crowd, it was time to work and Jonathan Saunders underscored this by ushering us up sleek escalators and speedy lifts to the the 20th floor of the Broadgate tower to watch his AW12 show. It may as well have been Monday morning, had it not been for the setting sun which greeted us upon arrival in the floor-to-ceiling-glazed showspace. As we waited for the show the to begin, the sky was a soft orange and London’s skyline clearly visible from within the clean, corporate surroundings. A stunning venue.

Berenice Abbott's City Arabesque, 1936 (from Flickr.com)
Her images encompass all that is evocative about   the huge
buildings which tower over us in cities

The very next day, Saunders’ contemporary, Christopher Kane, also chose a shiny modern office building as the location for his show. Fashion is not akin to associating itself with these almost spaceship like behemoths of capitalism, but it seemed like Saunders and Kane were interested in introducing them to their fashion equation. Maybe some of their biggest customers work in these places?

Chloe AW12

In fact, the overarching theme of the Paris collections that designers clearly more concerned with dressing the working woman, as opposed to the socialising women - though of course party dressing is always a bit part of fashion.  Over Paris Fashion Week, the big players have been showing collections aimed directly to the heart of professional women and her wardrobe including Lanvin, YSL, Stella McCartney and Celine to name a few.

Stella McCartney AW12

Yves Saint Laurent AW12

Balenciaga's uniformed ushers (image from Jessica Michaults' Twitter)

In Paris last Thursday, Balenciaga overtook a space on the 27th floor of a tower in the Beaugrenelle area for their AW12 show. The vision of kane and Saunders was this time extended; attendants in Balenciaga uniforms guarded the entrance to the venue, as if to ensure that no spies from rival corporations were allowed through. Nicholas  Ghesquière  had apparently spent months with his in-house artist Dominique Gonzalez- Foerster to perfect his reimagination of the historic French house as a corporate machine.

The fogged up view across Paris from the Balenciaga venue (from Emily Sheffield's twitter)

Suited, booted and gloved corporate clones (Image from Vogue Turkey's Twitter)

 He told Style.com that he has become obsessed with the time in the late seventies and early eighties when ‘France became Modern’. Perhaps when the private sector is promised as our only hope for economic recovery, there is a renewed fascination with how vast companies operate, both now and in the past, and the aesthetic which their hugeness entails- the uniforms, the logos, the company colours and dress codes. I know from friends who work in the city that they often end up wearing the same clothes and eating the same food as their colleagues, simply because of the culture which exists in their companies.

The corporate mood ran right through into the clothes, where Ghesquière used concrete grey, cobalt blue and black as the colour anchors. The shapes were sharp, futuristic and, all importantly, architectural. There were also sweatshirts with superhero cartoons emblazoned on the front, these emphasised the fantasy element of Balenciaga Inc.

Balenciaga AW12

Balenciaga AW12 

Balenciaga AW12 (All catwalk images from catwalking.com)

Whilst in Paris this weekend, I found time between shows and showroom appointments to visit the Berenice Abbott exhibition which is currently on show at the Jeu de Paume (a mere hop, skip and a jump from the Tuileries show venue used by numerous designers).

Canyon Broadway and Exchange Place by Berenice Abbott, 1936 (image from www.artblart.wordpress.com)

Abbott, a photographer who died in 1991, has a varied repertoire which reflects her desire to show ‘the whole American scene’. Some of her best and most fascinating photography was done in New York in the 1930s. She undertook an almost decade long project to document how the city was changing during this time. Her images sum up what is really awesome about the huge sky scrapers which are now familiar sites in most major cities- the precise architectural thought plus the end purpose of providing a place from which hundreds of people gather with the collective goal of making insane amounts of money.

Broadway to the Battery by Berenice Abbott, 1938
 (image from lalettredelaphotographie.com)

The Flatiron building, 1938 by Berenice Abbott
(from www.photographersgallery.com)

Abbott said that 'New York is the most phenomenal gesture ever made'. Arguably, the period in French history which Ghesquière looked back to would have been quite different without New York's sky scraper prototypes. Right now is not so different- we may not be building these towers in the quantities of previous decades, but they are symbols of what got us into the financial crisis and what will probably end up getting us out of it too. In fashion specifically, there is now more than ever, a kind of admiration for designers who turn their creativity into good business. So who can blame them for having that on their mind when they pull a show together? There aren't many better ways of getting the message across than by holding your show in an elegant, corporate space rather than an old car park. Plus, as Abbott's work shows, these places are really quite beautiful.

Berenice Abbott is on at Jeu de Paume until 29th April. Check here for further details