Thanks in part to his popularity on TikTok, fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra is jumping into home décor with a new collaboration with West Elm Kids.
“Three or four years ago, this project wasn’t something I would have done,” Altuzarra said. “But through TikTok, I’ve shared a side of myself that I haven’t shared before — and a lot of that involves being (part of) a family and having kids.”
“This collection feels like a natural extension of my brand, from a style standpoint, as well as who I am,” he added.
Joseph Altuzarra x West Elm Kids, which arrived on West Elm e-commerce sites in the US and Canada on Monday, consists of 42 pieces of furniture and accessories, each made for nurseries and reflecting West Elm’s signature modernity and functionality.
For the collection, Altuzarra designed each piece starting with a sketch, in the same way he develops his clothing collections. His daily drawing routine is well known among his 54,000 followers on TikTok, where he has been posting “A Day in the Life” style videos since July 2022.
His West Elm collection focuses on two themes inspired by his young daughters’ personalities and stages of development: the zodiac and constellation theme – which appears in products including ‘Shooting Stars’ bedding, star peel and stick wallpaper, and moon painting. He said the Stars and Stripes carpet was based on “imaginary worlds” and storytelling, as his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Emma loves. The focus on hot air balloons, clouds and the sky was based on the “joy and wonder” his one-year-old daughter, Charlotte, felt.
This isn’t the first time Altusara has been designing home decor, which is what he calls a passion. In 2021, he launched, under his own label, a small collection of home products, including accent pillows, decorative baskets, and monogrammed blankets. A year earlier, he collaborated with Etsy and elite artisans to produce a range of one-of-a-kind, limited-edition home products.
Since designing home décor is “a natural extension of working on clothes,” Altuzarra said it will be a bigger part of his work in the future. “It’s (a category) I think about more and more,” he said.
In that regard, West Elm Kids is set to become a larger part of the 21-year-old West Elm’s business, according to company president Die Kornblut.
“It’s an exciting growth opportunity,” said Kornbluth, pointing to the success of West Elm’s 24-year-old sister kids’ Pottery Barn — which is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. According to Williams-Sonoma’s second-quarter earnings. According to the report announced Aug. 23, West Elm’s revenue for the quarter fell 21% year-over-year to $484 million, while Pottery Barn saw a smaller decline of 11%, to $786 million. Pottery Barn Kids & Teen, which will open its first stand-alone store in Mexico in September, had $256 million, reflecting a decline of 9%.
Kornbluth said West Elm Kids’ growth is outpacing that of the major brand, which is expected given its news. West Elm Kids is not yet available in the store.
Since launching in 2021, West Elm Kids has launched several first-time collaborations, including with Pottery Barn Kids and National Geographic. The Altuzarra partnership is its largest yet, based on the number of products, and “several” other collaborations are slated for release in 2024. In terms of ideal collaborators, Kornbluth said West Elm has sought out style officers who raise young children.
“Our clients range in age from their 20s and up,” said Kornbluth. “We were the place they[came to]furnish their first apartment and their first home. Now, these clients are also happy to think of us as the place they come to when furnishing their first nursery.
While decorating his daughters’ rooms, Altuzarra said the “cartoonish” decor options he was finding on the market didn’t fit with his home’s sophisticated aesthetic. As such, he’s happy to introduce a children’s line that looks “grounded in refined design language,” and can move from baby’s room to kid’s room and maybe beyond.