Interview with Fashion Designer Joseph Altuzarra - Neiman marcus

Neiman Marcus fashion director Ken Downing interviews Joseph Altuzarra, the fashion designer of Altuzarra, about his inspirations and the creative process of designing a collection. Explore the Altuzarra collection and find the pieces that speak to you: ****** Check out the interview with Joseph Altuzarra in the March issue of the Book: ****** See more interviews with fashion designers: ****** Don't miss the latest from Neiman Marcus. Subscribe today ►►► ****** Get social with Neiman Marcus: Website ► ****** Facebook ► ****** Instagram ►****** Twitter ► ****** Pinterest ► ****** Google ► ****** This Neiman Marcus video is an interview with fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I really respond to the idea of ease and pragmatism. And this idea that women today who travel, who work, and who need their wardrobe to be versatile, they don't want to be bogged down by their wardrobe. They want their wardrobe to work for them. [MUSIC PLAYING] I start with what I'm most inspired by, working on the essence of the collection and the heart of it almost, and then sort of building around it. And I throw it on the paper. I draw a lot, and then put things on the wall, start editing down. I think that there is an emotional response to something that you can see, and that you can touch, and you can feel the hand of the person who made it. Here's the craft. I mean that idea that things that are actually hand applied. We developed these really beautiful-- they were meant to look like ceramic. They're actually metal, but then they're painted to look like they're a ceramic button. And I think it's such an important part now of how we make clothes and what customers relate to, is sort of seeing the hand of the maker. So we did a lot of this kind of embroidery on these broderie angalise, like eyelet fabrics, and I really wanted to do it on cotton. And this is actually this really interesting mix of hand painting, bleaching, dip-dyeing, and tie-dye. The idea behind a lot of the trims was that I wanted to go back to something that felt really natural to this idea of sort of the twine. I liked in the color palette as well, there was almost kind of a terra cotta brick and more kind of red-faced brown that I thought had a real beauty to it. A lot of the colors came from the Basque landscape and there's an earthiness I think. This pant is really a cornerstone of our silhouette. Fit in the thigh, it's a little flared on the bottom. I really enjoy the process. I really love-- I love to draw, I love to work with the factories, I love to work with incredible tailors, incredible pattern makers, incredible sewers. And I think it makes me also a better designer in the end of the day.