There’s a side to me that likes to make clothes for everyday. But I also think of fashion as an escape. It’s like a dream. It shouldn’t always be practical and about real life. Sometimes you have to do a piece that has a bit more of a wow - almost like, "I don’t know who’s going to wear that. It’s almost too much." That’s a lot of what fashion is about. Even in an economy that isn’t strong and where it’s important to sell clothes, you have to make things that let people dream a little, you know?
The best and the worst thing about fashion is that anyone can do it. But because fashion can be the most unintellectual thing, you have to turn it into an intellectual exercise just for your own sanity. You have to start with a conceit.
My mother has a very chic sense of style, but she also has high expectations for her clothes to be functional and practical.
When you start a collection, you have to push yourself to limits that may make you uncomfortable.
Starting your own business and thinking about how you can grow something and fulfill both expectations and needs of your retailers and still stay exciting for the runway, you sort of become this left brain-right brain person pretty quickly.
One of the guiding principles of Altuzarra is that fashion can be transformative, changing not just the way you look, but also the way you feel. By partnering with Target, we hope to bring that same experience to a much broader range of women.
I think designers are starting to realize that we're all in the same industry. We're making clothes - we aren't saving the world. I'm not saying that designers aren't artists, but at the end of the day, we make clothes.
It's important not to take all this fashion stuff too seriously, and I kind of love the idea of cheesiness.
I was not a very popular kid in high school, and I had this idea that the way that I dressed would change how liked I was. It was that kind of Pygmalion story. I think, ultimately that's probably why I became interested in fashion, its transformative power, and how it can change your identity.
Ballet teaches you how to hold yourself.
I wanted to create clothes for women in their 40s and 50s and 60s who have careers and are sexy and dont want to look like grandmothers.
I try to think about items that can be worn in different ways so they can be worn more than once.
I think women want to feel beautiful. They want to feel seductive.
In architecture and interiors, as well as fashion, there is an interaction that is both functional and aesthetic.
That's a big part of being a designer now: going out, having dinners, meeting people. Being in an ivory tower, you can feel very removed.
You can build a brand very fast now, especially with bloggers and how fast images can get out - the message just goes out faster and stronger than ever before.
I was also very lucky to be able to work with talented people while I was learning. I didn't actually go to fashion school. I worked with Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy which was a really pivotal experience for me. He taught me a lot about being faithful to your own voice and to really believe in your own voice and that's made a big difference.
When you look at women today, many take very good care of themselves - they exercise, they eat well, they achieve so much in their jobs. I think they feel good, they feel beautiful, and I believe they want to show their bodies.
