how things should be
made. 11:00 a.m. I work
with two stylists, Vanessa Traina
and Melanie Huynh, and get their feedback.
Vanessa comes in and looks at the clothes; if
we’re doing looks, we’ll try them on the models
and discuss, take pictures, and see if we need anything
new to be developed. I’ve known Vanessa for seven years
and Melanie for nine—they’re my two closest friends. They’re
not big going-outers, and neither am I. We’ll go out for
dinner, but we have sort of quiet social lives. We’re so com-
fortable with each other that we can be very honest, getting
into little arguments, but we have a wonderful time. I’m not a
tortured designer. I still have the iPhone 5s; I’m not
a crazy technology enthusiast. I use Instagram sparingly, and
I’m crazy about closing my apps to save the battery. I use Seam-less and Uber quite a bit, Dark Sky for the weather, and WhatsApp
with Melanie, but no workout apps. 2:00 p.m. Around lunch-
time I go get something from Smile to Go or from the deli. It’s
pretty healthy! Usually I’ll look at the Internet while I eat—
fashion sites or the Times again. 2:30 p.m. After lunch I have
meetings with my design team and make decisions about fabrics,
trends, and shoes, and I’ll touch base with Karis. A lot of my
day revolves around drawing. I have templates I draw on, and
while I eat, I listen to, like, the same two songs over and over.
I’ve been listening to Robyn’s “Monument,” some classical,
like Rachmaninof ’s “Piano Concerto No. 2,” and the Har-
ry Potter soundtrack—it’s actually very good. I drink a lot
of water and Snapple diet peach iced tea. Seth and I are
both addicted to it, independently of each other. If I’m
in the office all day and night, I might have five.
I don’t know how the company found out I drink
it, but they sent me a case where they’d custom-
ized the facts inside the caps. I still have
one. It says, “Real Fact: Snapple isn’t too
sexy for Joseph’s catwalk.” Snapple is
pretty much my main guilty plea-
sure. I don’t, like, pop open
a bottle of wine when
I get home.I used to bite my nails,
but I stopped by force of
will. I was getting sick a lot,
and I thought that the nail biting was a con-
tributing factor. 6:00 p.m. I take a cab home,
or sometimes I’ll walk because I like to give Bean a
little exercise and to relax my mind. 6:30 p.m. I walk
to the gym and work out with my trainer, Chase. I’ve
been trying to be more healthy. I run a bit and go through
a battery of exercises—it’s a great stress reliever. 8:00 p.m.
I have a strawberry shake and walk home. Honestly, 95 per-
cent of the time we just order in for dinner. I love sushi, and
Hana, in our neighborhood, is our big place—Seth and I may
or may not be keeping them in business. I like Thai food, I like
Italian; I’ll eat sort of anything. I made a crumble this weekend,
and that’s in the fridge. We’re big TV people; we have a dining
room, but we eat in the living room so we can watch it and
decompress. Homeland is amazing, and I like The Good Wife, House
of Cards, and Veep. I actually love watching shows like 60 Minutes
or Frontline. I just like to hang out when I have time of, sometimes
watching movies—When Harry Met Sally ... , The Godfather,
In the Mood for Love—or going for a run or to Barnes & Noble.
I love reading fction. I really liked The Goldfnch, and I’ll reread
classics like Lolita. I’ve been trying to get into poetry, so I just
bought a collection of poems by W.H. Auden. 11:00 p.m.
Seth goes to bed earlier than I do, so then I do research and
get on my e-mail one last time, and that’s usually how my
day sort of ends. 12:00 a.m. My bedroom is very dark;
we have blackout shades. I need total darkness to sleep
and I need it to be very quiet. Usually we watch more
TV right before going to sleep. I’m now trying to stop
looking at my phone that late—you sleep much
better. We’ll take Bean in the bed sometimes, but
invariably after, like, 15 minutes, she wants to
go to her own bed. We have a lot of linens
from Frette, but that’s colored by the fact
that we just got married and we
registered there. We’re not usu-
ally that fancy. As told to
Christine WhitneyI’m not a tortured designer.
Altuzarra, Spring 2015
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