AZ Factory Pre-Fall 2024
Lutz Huelle only ever met the late Alber Elbaz fleetinglyānotably at the fashion dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macronābut the two had more in common than meets the eye. Both were lured to Paris by a dream of working in fashion, and each forged his own signature in an adopted hometown, in a language not their own, with one eye on legendary ideas about glamour, and the other on the serious business behind it all.
āThe reason why I loved this project is that what Alber had in mind really corresponds to what I like anyway,ā Huelle said during a visit to the AZ Factory showroom at the Fondation Cartier. āWe have different stories: where he did very sophisticated, precious designs, I can be more street-y, but the thinking is the same. His catchphrase, āsmart fashion that caresā is so right. Now itās a question of how we take that forward.ā
Huelle is on his third collection as an AZ Factory Amigo, with another yet to come. For that reason, he said he chooses not to think in terms of season or trend, but rather of how to continue the conversation and build on whatever is already in a wardrobe. āIt always has to be easy,ā he said. āItās about taking nice things and putting them together differently, so itās about context as much as the clothes.ā
Picking up on classic Parisian tropes, he revisited leopard print, now reworked in various ways on a bomber, knits, and an asymmetrical jersey skirt or a shirtdress with a flirty little flounced skirt. Striped menās shirting was feminized with lace or a gloss of shiny transparent
sequins. Ultra-femme attributes like lace and ruffles cropped up in a black bomber or cutaway tiers, respectively. Conversely, the polo shirt was teased into popover dresses, for example in āa lipstick kissā of shocking pink.
āLetās dress up and get on with it,ā is one way Huelle describes his fashion philosophy. To that point, not everything here makes that easy. But Huelle has talent and AZ Factory is still finding its way. Letās see where they go next.
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