Altuzarra for J. Crew

[HeatherAnne]

This is so bad, I don't see the touch of Altuzarra's hand, it reminds me of regular J. Crew... maybe ever worse.

First Look: Altuzarra for J. Crew the Complete Collection

For the second year in a row, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner and runners up have collaborated with sponsor J.Crew to create capsule collections for the retailer. About a month ago CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Joseph Altuzarra confirmed to us that his J.Crew collab was in the works, saying, “Well, it was a really interesting project because it was like a conflation of their language–or of their world–[and] of our world and putting it together.”

Yesterday Vogue gave us a peak at one look from Altuzarra for J.Crew but today we bring you the entire seven piece line. According to a release announcing the collection, Altuzarra was inspired by “Brigitte Bardot in Saint-Tropez and French preppy style.” For Altuzarra, that meant lots of gingham: on button downs that tie in the front, and on precious shift dresses with a grosgrain ribbon bow at the waist. Rounding out the collection are striped mariniere sweaters riddled with holes (why?), denim skirts, and loafer espadrilles. It’s all pretty cute but we can’t stop thinking about how we’re going to get our hands on those espadrilles. Need. The collection will be available for purchase on JCrew.com on April 19 and at the J.Crew on Fifth Ave. in Manhattan on April 23. Stay tuned for J. Crew collections from runners-up Pamela Love and Creatures of the Wind.



fashionista

fashionista

 

[ChrissyM]

oh wow... so NOT what i expected when I read the thread title!

I don't consider myself a big J. Crew girl, but thought their last catalog was full of some really covetable stuff...

I didn't know quite what an Altuzarra for J. Crew collab would look like, but I certainly didn't think it would look like this...

I agree HeatherAnne, I think this looks like a step down from J. Crew's usual fare, and I never in a million years would have guessed that Altuzarra had anything to do with it.

I'm more curious about what Pamela Love and Creatures of the Wind do with J. Crew, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high after seeing this.

 

[lucy92]

yeah, this looks like madewell. (j crew's cheaper line)

it could be that j crew told him to keep it casual. pamela love's items look casual as well.

 

[Psylocke]

^Yeah, I was going to say this looked like something Alexa Chung would design. It has a similar feel to her collections for Madewell.
Whatever, Altuzarra is rather overrated anyway but this is insulting. How can something like this be called a designer collaboration? That's definitely too casual for me.

 

[Ives927]

So they're just selling what they're already selling, but decided to slap Altuzarra's name on it. What a smart idea!

 

[LoveLetter]

definitely worse!

 

[GERGIN]

Yea this collection definetely seems like he wasn't given a good amount of freedom to be creative in any possible way. I would have mistaken this for a lower end Black Fleece collection for Brooks Brothers.

 

[Scott]

it certainly doesn't seem to fit with his signature aesthetic. and the bardot reference is as equally unoriginal,imo. been done to death. i wish designers within this sort of context would seek out other icons maybe american shoppers wouldn't be so familiar with but would ultimately be delighted with.

btw,if only j.crew lowered its standard price-range and expanded its option like the Gap,i might actually venture to purchase something from them. but it's terribly exorbitant for what they do and what it is.

 

[ChrissyM]

^^that's my main problem with j. crew scott...
the prices are absurd... way too high

the only time i purchase j. crew is when i visit their outlet store.

 

[kimair]

it's interesting because the prabal gurung/j.crew collaboration was much more "high-end" in look and pricing...
i was expecting that when i first heard of this pairing, but it does look very madewell...

 

[HeatherAnne]

and the bardot reference is as equally unoriginal,imo. been done to death.

Seriously, there has been countless "God Created Woman" fashion editorials, and an equal amount of designers citing it as a reference. Cool it already! You would think that the Chanel St. Tropez cruise show would have put the final nail in that coffin, but years later we're still bombarded with references to it, as if it it is the only film in existence.

People can make fun of tFS all they want, but at least there is honest talk here. Has anyone else noticed all the blogs (including Fashionista, the source I posted this from) hyping this collaboration like it doesn't SUCK? Quite laughable/vomit inducing.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I agree kimair: the Gurung collaboration was more interesting than this!

I also agree that JCrew's pricing is high for what it is; in that case I'd rather buy designer goods on sale than JCrew regular price (i.e., a Margret Howell top on 50% off sale is as much as some JCrew at regular price - that's a no-brainer. Take the Howell). But I do buy JCrew on sale too, and they often have good promos, like take another 30% off marked down items, etc. Then it's definitely worthwhile to pick up some items, especially those from the "collection" line, because the quality is nice.

Anyhow, this Altuzarra effort is lame. Nothing special.

 

[Scott]

HeatherAnne,thank you for that last comment

 

[lucy92]

the striped breton-esque long sleeve t costs 85$.
so the pricing here might be the same as regular j crew stuff. it seems that jcrew insisted the designers work with the same exact material. blunder on their part IMO.

 

[Street_a_Licious]

this is so.... non descript

 

[Littleathquakes]

So they're just selling what they're already selling, but decided to slap Altuzarra's name on it. What a smart idea!

Exactly!

 

[Phuel]

Generic and bland-- and I'm being kind.

But, from a marketing angle, this makes sense. J. Crew already has a solid and established customer-base, and to many others, it's a "designer" brand worthy of prestige, so slapping some young, hip designer's name onto another commercial line of theirs just makes that line more attractive to some people-- for no other reason then that it has some designer's name on it, even if it's identical to anything else from J. Crew. The power of branding.

 

[Spike413]

Completely underwhelming, not to mention very overpriced for what it is.

Think of it in relation to the Prabal collection they did for holiday. Those pieces were well above J. Crew's usual pricepoint, but they seemed worth it because you were essentially getting a designer piece, that looked like the designer's work, for a fraction of that designer's retail price, yet it was all in keeping with J. Crew's image. This, on the other hand, bears no real resemblance to Altuzarra's work and is comprised of pieces that can be gotten anywhere...including J.Crew itself.

Did his company have any input on this whatsoever?

 

[LagerfeldBoy]

Same J. Crew sh*t, designer label stamped.