Joseph Altuzarra '05 Named Designer of Year
Joseph Altuzarra '05
Named Designer of the Year
by Alisa Giardinelli
11/15/11
Designer Joseph Altuzarra '05 is the winner of the eighth annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. The prize, which comes with $300,000 and mentoring, was announced last night at a dinner that featured Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenburg, Anna Wintour, and other fashion industry luminaries.
"Really, you have this overwhelming sense of being grateful and so appreciative, and just so happy,"Altuzarra told the New York Times after the event. "I don't know how else to put it, it's just total bliss."
Altuzarra has been recognized by the New York Times Magazine as one of New York's "next generation" of young designers. His collections have been praised for their hard feminine aesthetic, featuring body-conscious silhouettes and unique, streamlined patchwork techniques.
Born and raised in Paris, Altuzarra, is the son of an American expatriate mother and a French father. He graduated from Swarthmore, where he ran track, with a major in art and art history. He then interned at Marc Jacobs and apprenticed with Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy before launching his own label. Last year, his company turned a profit, taking in $4 million in retail sales from 30 stores.
