Alternative makes its East Coast debut with SoHo store

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (April 14, 2014) – On the heels of opening its third California retail location in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, sustainable lifestyle brand Alternative is pleased to announce the opening of its first East Coast store in New York City. Located in the city’s SoHo district and marking the brand’s fourth retail location nationwide, the store will have a soft opening in April and host a grand opening event in May.

“Our retail expansion process is deliberate and thoughtful,” said CEO Evan Toporek. “We are targeting communities in diverse and influential cities that authentically reflect our brand values. As we like to say, our brand will cast the winning vote.”

Leading up to the opening, Alternative will partner with Andrew Lyon of The Functionality, a Brooklyn-based artist collective that specializes in creating spatial installations from unusual materials to generate visual interest and new forms. In conjunction with the store’s soft opening, the team will unveil a bespoke sculpture on the store’s façade that speaks to Alternative’s fabric first ethos. The installation will tie the “fabric of the city” to the creation of fabric as a material, using a natural rope as its medium.

“Our New York City customer is globally connected and locally engaged,” said President and Chief Merchandising Officer Erik Joule. “Given such, we have designed our SoHo space to serve as a platform for joining culture, community and commerce through simply designed and innovative fashion basics, offered alongside a curated arrangement of brands and artists that share our values.”

SoHo was a clear fit for Alternative’s Manhattan location, given the neighborhood’s rich history in retail and its industrial aesthetic.

Interior designer Danny Gonzales, who has worked on all of Alternative’s stores, once again took the reins to create an environment that highlights the history of the turn of the century building as well as Alternative’s sustainable design philosophy. A former New Yorker, Gonzales enlisted the help of the SoHo community, working with local craftsmen to introduce more sustainable materials within the store located in the former Tiffany & Co. manufacturing facility. Alternative will share a block with Ben Sherman, Scotch & Soda, WeSC and Steven Alan, among others.

Alternative SoHo will open its doors with a selection of its Spring/Summer line, including its Made in Peru collection that features six proprietary fabrics sourced from a single organic yarn. Also from the Made in Peru collection will be a capsule of naturally dyed tees that were created in partnership with Ecotintes, a Peruvian family-owned business. Additionally, the store will feature a wide range of the brand’s iconic apparel for men and women, along with a selection of third party brands who share Alternative’s ethos of sustainable and innovative design.

In addition to serving as a permanent retail space, Alternative SoHo will host events and initiatives aimed at local engagement. Alternative Grants, a traveling program designed to encourage grassroots community improvement projects, will make its New York City debut in the months following the store’s opening.

The Alternative SoHo store will open in April 2014 on 281 Lafayette Street. Store hours will be Mondays through Saturdays, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sundays, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. For further information, customers can call 212-226-8210.
 
About Alternative

Founded in 1995, Alternative is a fashion lifestyle brand best known for comfort, simplicity and its commitment to sustainability. Through innovative apparel design and involvement in purposeful causes, it aims to connect people, inspire creativity and catalyze change. Alternative’s design studio and flagship stores are in Los Angeles, California. Corporate headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia.

To learn more, visit alternativeapparel.com


By press release