AZ Factory teams up with Lutz Huelle for the second time

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Cassidy STEPHENS

Published
May 3, 2023

AZ Factory is tightening its ties with Lutz Huelle. Following the success of their spring-summer 2023 collection, the German designer and the house founded by Alber Elbaz have announced that their collaboration "will be recurrent."

Huelle will design the next pre-collection for spring 2024, which will be unveiled in June and marketed from November. It will pick up on some of the themes developed by the designer in his previous collaboration and focus on sustainability "with more than 50% of the collection being made from dormant fabric stocks," AZ Factory said in a statement.
 
As a reminder, after the death of its founder Alber Elbaz in April 2021, the Parisian house, which had just been created by the famous Israeli-American designer with the Swiss luxury group Richemont, decided to continue its activity by relying on its style team. At the same time, in 2022, it launched a programme of collaborations with external talent dubbed 'Amigos'. Lutz Huelle was the third guest designer after Thebe Magugu and Ester Manas. Since then, the list has grown to include Cyril Bourez, Club Domani, ShelterSuit, Tenessy Thoreson and the Colville duo of Molly Molloy and Lucinda Chambers.

Ads

Unveiled last October at Paris Fashion Week, the collection, designed by Lutz Huelle, cleverly blended denim, street style and Alber Elbaz's casual couture spirit. The two designers have only crossed paths once, but they have a lot in common, such as colour and the art of reinventing the classics. The German designer has managed to reinterpret Alber Elbaz's work while fusing it with his own style in simple yet desirable pieces that have been a hit.
 
"With Lutz, everything happened spontaneously and joyfully (...) Working together was a real collective exercise from the beginning of the creative process. His work is essential beauty, unadorned and witty, with an understated approach to elegance today. The first chapter of the project was extremely well received, so naturally we thought: let's do it again," says Mauro Grimaldi, strategic advisor to Richemont's fashion and accessories division, in charge of AZ Factory.
 
For his part, Lutz Huelle is delighted to continue the adventure and to be able to continue collaborating with the brand's team. As he recalls, "the first collaboration with AZ Factory was the most fabulous and inspiring experience."