Altuzarra

Altuzarra was founded in 2008 in New York by Joseph Altuzarra, a French-Chinese-American designer who had been an apprentice at Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, and Proenza Schouler before launching his own womenswear label at age 24. The first collection — fourteen looks of luxury-tier American womenswear with deeply researched French tailoring foundations — was bought in entirety by Barneys New York. The Altuzarra vocabulary settled around an elevated American sportswear vocabulary anchored to specific 1970s references: hand-painted floral prints (the brand's Spring 2014 'Geranium' collection is a touchstone), the deconstructed shirt-dress, leather and wool tailoring, the gypsy-skirt silhouettes, and a recurring engagement with the textile and craft heritage of Joseph Altuzarra's French family lineage. The brand has dressed Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong'o, and Michelle Obama. Kering took a minority stake in 2014 and exited in 2018; the brand has since been independently held by Altuzarra and partners. The brand operates from New York and shows at Paris Fashion Week. Altuzarra won the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2014 — making him one of the youngest recipients ever. Few American designers of the past two decades have built so cohesive a 1970s-inflected luxury sportswear vocabulary while operating outside the major group structure.