Altuzarra taps Castañer classics for new summer collection

The French-American designer, Joseph Altuzarra, has chosen to design a new capsule collection in collaboration with Spanish footwear brand, Castañer, to accessorize his Spring/Summer collection while also supporting "traditional craftsmanship."

Castañer's simple yet traditional shoe, created by the brand since 1927, has garnered the attention of great artists such as Dalí as well as the likes of Grace Kelly, Jacky Kennedy, and Ava Gadner throughout the years. 

Altuzarra, (born in Paris in 1983) is one of the most promising fashion designers in the United States. He grew up in Paris where he worked alongside Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy after having his designs noticed by many other fashion houses, including Marc Jacobs. 

For his latest collection, he aimed to "create modern pieces that continue to build a vocabulary of sensual and polished luxury" and for this, he designed a capsule collection in collaboration with the Spanish footwear brand, which will be available for a limited time only on both brands’ e-commerce sites. 

The shoe collection includes a pair of babouche ankle-wrapped flat espadrilles in napa leather paired with knitted dresses while midi shirt dresses in shibori prints or in lightweight poplin are paired with braided sandals "to walk everywhere comfortably.”

Open-toe wedge sandals and printed canvas jute flats (the same prints seen in Altuzarra’s last collection) comprise the capsule along with the other stitched or braided shoe designs. 

It’s not the first time that Castañer attracts the attention of luxury designers. The footwear brand’s first partnership was with Yves Saint Laurent in 1970, followed by another collaboration with Manolo Blahnik a couple years later in 2018. Italian fashion house Missoni also succumbed to Castañer’s footwear in 2019, as did Paul Smith just last year.

With 95 years of history, Castañer is currently present in more than 60 countries, including Mexico, Chile, Japan and Singapore.