Karis Durmer, CEO of Altuzarra, comments that he believes physical runway shows are still very relevant and necessary, because people pay close attention to fashion week and he thinks it’s the best way to show customers all of the designs just as the designer intended them to be seen. He explained:
“From a commercial standpoint, you could argue that today, a fashion show isn’t necessary. Joseph and I agree that it’s more important than ever to have a fashion show. If you’re a brand around our age, it’s the only environment people can see Joseph’s vision — we don’t have a store, a retail environment. For the industry as a whole, it’s a month the world is watching all the genius that comes out, and collectively everyone benefits from that moment. Tomas Maier is launching without a show… but we’re very strong believers in that moment.”
Altuzarra recently collaborated with Target, and Durmer reveals that the collection generated huge interest and they introduced many new people to the company via the collection, gaining a huge amount of exposure:
“For us, Target was an incredible opportunity. When we talk about marketing budget, and what we do or don’t have, one of the strategies we have is to leverage partnerships to broaden name recognition. People in this room know the name Altuzarra, but beyond that, it’s relatively unknown, we know that about the brand. Through Target, we were able to generation 3 billion media impressions.”
Joseph is working with backer Kering but says he is still allowed just as much free reign as usual and is even able to focus more on just the design component of the business now: “There have been no drawbacks. I’ve been able to focus more on the design component of my job, it’s allowed me to work with some incredible new factories and artists. They’re helpful, and also hands-off.”
