Altuzarra A/W 2014

Joseph Altuzarra is often billed as one of the top attractions of New York's Fashion Week and for Winter he effortlessly showed us why. Soft and subtle, yet strong and decisive, the collection walked a fine line between hyper quiet luxury and major fashion drama. That balance is not easy to come by, but Altuzarra made it look effortless. Rooted in the origins of American sportswear, the clothes were cut with an assured hand into lithe and elongated silhouettes borrowed from the comfort-friendly 1970s. Buttery cashmere wrap coats with exaggerated lapels, lean and mean V-necked dresses with exaggerated slits all enveloped the body with a cozy, sensual flair. Pared down clothes are notoriously difficult to do well, but the designer aced the challenge with a series of unexpected twists. Double-faced coats and jackets were completely décor-less save from their two-tone layers. Cobalt shouted out from navy blue, shocking pink sizzled on the underside of olive green. There was also the matter of the crafty woven tapestry tops and dresses, whose surfaces were as bumpy as any carpet we've ever seen, but a whole lot more desirable. Those, together with the Crayola coloured grid of intarsia mink, were the highlight of a show that proves Altuzarra deserves every bit of acclaim he gets.