Joseph Altuzarra and his husband are expecting their first child in November. They’re having a girl! In preparation, Altuzarra has been knitting baby things; his mother and grandmother taught him to knit when he was young and gave him sweaters they had knit themselves. Handcrafts worked their way into his new Spring collection in the form of granny square halter tops layered between button-downs and blazers, or worn solo with midiskirts. Impending fatherhood has also found Altuzarra thinking about heirlooms: Which pieces are cherished most? And what gets handed down through the generations? Remembering the sweaters that were knit for him, he said, “They defied disposability because they had so much emotion; they were made by hand.”
That stream of thought produced dresses patchworked from striped silk tie fabric with a substantial hand, others, collages from polka-dot silk scarves and reinterpretations of Barbour coats in red linen or a cinnamon-color suede. The future hand-me-down as a concept has become a refrain this season. Designers are looking to the past to determine what’ll be valuable in the future. This can produce anachronisms; certain collections have looked almost suspended in time. Altuzarra’s felt fresh and contemporary. That’s down to the vibrant color palette and his confident all-American sportswear.
Tailoring formed the foundation of the collection. It took its cues, as many have this season, from the lean silhouettes of the 1970s. Single-button blazers with extra-wide lapels topped high-waisted flares or shorts that split the distance between Bermudas and culottes. Some of the suits were styled without tops, which has become another (somewhat puzzling) theme this season. Off the runway, Altuzarra’s customers will pair them with one of his striped poplin shirts. On the accessories front, the new Cuff bag has a traditional shape with clever magnetic hardware that pinches it closed, but the would-be heirloom is the new crochet version of his popular espadrille-sole bag.
