>> I've run into a number of people this week that don't know this name, but trust, you'll want to know: Altuzarra.  The native French designer, Joseph Altuzarra, put in a short amount of time at both Marc Jacobs and Givenchy and came out with a sensibility more up the Helmut Lang or Jil Sander alley.  Streamlined, well-cut camel coats were paired with body-conscious pants, soft matte jersey in cream or lavender-gray was draped, shaped, and seamed into of-the-moment dresses — some with padded shoulders — and metallic gunmetal numbers, combined with snippets of what looked like stretch neoprene, finished out his cocktail trifecta.  Even with just this second collection, Altuzarra proved he is one of the major talents just on the horizon — and he had some heavy hitters in attendance — Barneys fashion director Julie Gilhart, Vanessa Traina, who posed for his Spring 2009 lookbook — to prove it.
*image: source, source