French-born
American-based designer Joseph Altuzarra, who currently shows his collections
at New York Fashion Week, has commented that he is often inspired by how
wearable American fashion is. The designer explained: “There are things that I
very much admire in American fashion, which is the idea of clothes as clothes,
but there’s not necessarily this whole philosophical message in each
collection. It’s really about things that are wearable, in the end."
Joseph
has always loved fashion, especially as a teenager, because he found it amazing
how quickly a person could be transformed just by switching outfits. He has
always loved the way someone's image and identity could be swiftly adapted with
just a new look: “It was always something that I liked, as a teenager mainly,
not really as a child. I think originally it came from the fact that I was
fairly unpopular in school. I was really nerdy and not really accepted – this
was in Paris – but I think this whole kind of idea of Pygmalion was very
appealing to me: the idea that you could go and buy cool clothes that would
suddenly transform your entire social life… that’s really when my interest in
fashion started. The idea that fashion can be something transformative,
something that can change you.”
The
designer is also interested in creating subtly sexy ensembles with pieces that
wouldn't usually considered to be thought of as having sex appeal. He commented
on his idea: “Taking things that are not necessarily overtly sexy and turning
it sexy. I’m always really fascinated by fetishes and how they tie back to
secret urges or desires… in a way, you can say it is somewhat twisted.”
