Within the fashion set, Joseph Altuzarra is a widely recognized name. If there was any question about that, he cemented his status as a big-boy designer in June when he took home the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Award. But his reputation with the masses remains yet to be determined—he’s convinced shoppers don’t even know how to say his name. Not yet, anyways.
When his new collaboration for Target is unveiled globally in stores and on Net-a-Porter on September 14, that’s likely to change. In the mix are variations on his elevated, everyday pieces, favorited by the likes of Carine Roitfeld and Vanessa Traina Snow, including a striped button-down shirt, tailored blazers, and a three-quarter-length skirt with a thigh-high slit. And, luckily for anyone who has ever coveted his over-the-top trenchcoats, he’s offered up a khaki one of the more affordable persuasion.
“I am really excited about the trenchcoat—it looks incredibly expensive,” he tells Style.com of his favorite item in the nearly 50-piece collection (prices range from $18 to $90), which has been more than nine months in the making. “The fit on everyone who has tried it on has been phenomenal.”
Model Eva Herzigova was one of the few lucky enough to give the pieces an early test run. The designer chose the Czech beauty as the Altuzarra for Target campaign star. “We wanted to speak to a woman and not a girl,” he says. “It’s not so much about age but more about a certain level of sophistication and maturity and the way that you think about your style. That’s something that is very Altuzarra. Eva is someone who I felt really strongly embodied that person.”
Though the Altuzarra customer profile might not align with the typical Target shopper, and vice versa, the designer says there is a meeting point for the two. “In a way, it’s a different audience, but you are still talking to women who have very busy lives, and they want clothes that don’t hinder them but that work for their lifestyles.”
Here, in this Style.com exclusive video, catch a first look at some of the pieces and watch the designer talk about the forthcoming collection.
