A Thread about the indie boutique defying the retail fallout
It's a tough time to be a multi-brand retailer, but London's Alta Store seems to have cracked the code.
Hello and welcome to another Sunday at Threads of Conversation HQ. If you haven’t listened to Alec Leach’s podcast episode yet, then I recommend putting on your headphones to enjoy an inspiring 45 minutes of non-boring sustainability banter. Oh, and subscribe to his Substack too.
Today on the topic of mindful shopping, I’ve got an interview with the founders of Alta Store, a kooky independent fashion boutique in the heart of London’s Soho. With seemingly every retail juggernaut sinking into the choppy waters of administration, panic buyouts and mass-layoffs, it feels like a pretty bleak time to be trying to sell clothes. Not for Alta, who just celebrated their 1-year anniversary.
Founded by five designers (Alia Mehta, Sam Balcombe, Elif Gencer, Timna Weber and Matilda Little), the concept began as a pop-up series called ID Pop-up (for ‘independent designer’ - they changed the name because “Everyone kept asking if we were part of the magazine!”) After the success of the temporary stores, they decided to take the plunge and open their own permanent space, a place where they could continue to build a community of likeminded shoppers and designers. Here, I chat to Elif, Timna and Matilda about how they’re doing it and what they’ve learned.
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How did you all meet one another?
Elif: Online! On Instagram. Just mutually reaching out to say: “I love your brand!” and responding, “I love your brand too!” Appreciating and following each other for a while. It was right after lockdown. We wanted to come together, show together and be in a real space.
How did you start Alta, formerly known as ID Pop-Up?
Matilda: It was a couple of messages thrown around Instagram. A few of us knew each other beforehand, but then it was really just a fluke that we got on so well, and that the pop-up worked. We got addicted to working together on something, and it was really nice to form a community.
Where are you all from?
Elif: I’m Turkish, Matilda is English. Timna is Austrian, Alia is half English and half Indian and Sam is Australian.
Alongside your own labels, how do you decide on the curation and which brands to stock?
Matilda: Honestly we don't really over strategise it. We actually go with our gut quite a lot. We're part of creative communities in London, so when you hear of someone you're like, “Oh I’ve always liked them, why don’t we get them in?” All of our brands started online, so once we get that impulse of wanting to see something in real life, that’s quite a good indicator.
Elif: If it’s interesting enough for us to want to see it in real life, then we know it should be in the store.
How would you describe the flavour of Alta?
Elif: It has to be interesting in a way that’s not been seen before.
Matilda: And wearable. Our pieces aren’t so wacky that you wouldn’t wear them day to day.
What have you found have been the best sellers?
Matilda: It’s hard to say, because we often have one-of-a-kind pieces. The pieces get that get attention are quite vibrant. We also sell skirts very well, because you can have a fun skirt and everything else can be quite simple.
Timna: But in general we do see that if we get brands in which are very simple, they don’t sell so well. So basics or things you could find in another store.
Matilda: People come to us for a new, unique piece.
How would you describe your customer?
Matilda: When we did our pop-ups, I thought I knew our client, but more and more I’m surprised by people who come in. I think that’s also about our location - we’re so lucky to be so central, it’s like a meeting point for London. We have great footfall for all kinds of people.
Elif: I would say definitely people that are into fashion get most excited when they walk in. They really appreciate seeing a store that’s so unique and exciting to browse.
Yeah, I feel like the people I know that have the best style are big fans of Alta! Are there any trends you’re particularly noticing right now that people are buying into, or that are reflected in the pieces that you stock and the designers you’re in conversation with?
Matilda: The only way I can describe it is lot of trimmings. It’s almost like haberdashery style. There's lace everywhere, there’s buttons there’s bows. It’s quite fun, light. Those things do really well in our shop. Also in general there are so many amazing upcycling brands presenting themselves to us. I feel like growing up I was never aware of that, so it’s exciting to see more of those.
What are some things that you’ve learned? Good lessons and hard lessons.
Timna: We all come from a creative background, so we definitely needed to learn a lot about how to run a business!
Matilda: We’re business ladies now!
Elif: Yeah - it was a creative like itch that made us start, but we didn’t really think about the business side of it. And probably 70% of it is business! Thankfully we have each other to rely on and learn together.
When you say business can you be more specific?
Elif: A lot of VAT! I still cannot wrap my head around that.
Matilda: Organisation. Being on top of everything. Knowing exactly where the inventory is at all times, and being able to pass on that knowledge to someone to help you. Teamwork.
Timna: Making sales reports, a lot of accounting, lots of maths.
Is there any particular thing that’s been a real highlight?
Matilda: I’d say working as a team, because a lot of us came from working on our own brands by ourselves. It’s such a relief to be able to talk through decisions, especially when you respect the others’ opinions.
Timna: And to be connected to customers, getting feedback. Talking to them.
As designers, how has working in the store and observing how customers interact with the product influenced your designs or your business strategy?
Elif: Honestly, when you're just designing at home and isolated, you’re dissociated from the customer a lot. Being in the store is like live market research, collecting data to help you design better. For example, I had a corset-style dress that has the breast area open, and so you’re meant to wear something under it. But I noticed people weren’t sure how to wear something in it, and it made them a bit uncomfortable. So now I know I have to cover that area with something, so that it’s styled for them already.
Matilda: It’s pushed my confidence. When you’re designing by yourself and just projecting onto the internet, you get likes but that doesn’t mean anything. To actually see people try stuff on makes you feel like: “Oh yeah, I actually know how to design. I have a vision and I should just be happy with what I make and not second guess myself so much.”
Timna: For me, it was very interesting to see what kind of customer I have. For example, I was surprised to realise that I have a lot of guys buying my stuff.
Are there any lows, or things that are particularly hard?
Matilda: I guess rent is pretty intense. Being on top of money. That’s part of learning how to grow a company and run an effective business. But we think it’s worth it to pay more to be in that location.
Where does the name Alta come from?
Elif: It’s like ‘alternating’, because we constantly change the brands in the store.
What have you found is the best way to advertise?
Matilda: I think just being present in the shop. We take it in turns to work there alongside our other jobs. It’s not really a marketing strategy, but I think word of mouth - which is kind of wild, because nobody does that these days. But us being there means we get to communicate what we are directly to the customer. And also communicate about all of our brands. Because each of us know a lot about every single brand we have, so we can explain how that piece was made etc.
Elif: We actually don’t advertise at all, other than in the store!
Everyone’s feeling pretty rocked by the recent closures of major multi-brand fashion retailers. Is that something you feel like has affected your store at all?
Matilda: I think it slightly aligns with why we wanted to start Alta in the first place. I feel like in the 2000s, the vision for fashion was all online retail. But I think after COVID lockdowns, when we’d been online for 2 years straight, we personally were sick of being online, and we weren’t reaching the people we wanted to reach. So our impulse was to be IRL and meeting people. We weren’t ever on the same level or competing with those big retailers anyway, but I think in a way it kind of makes sense to me. I think people want to be feeling the fabric, they want to be present in real life, to see what they’re buying. It’s like the internet used to be escapism and now everyone wants to escape from the internet and come to a real place.
What are some brands that you’re stocking currently that you’re really excited about, other than your own?
Elif: We have almost 50 brands and we love all of them! More than half of the brands we have are local - we try to represent a lot of new local talent, so we’re always keeping an eye on that. We also really like brands that have a niche. Like an artist, they really study their topic, material or a certain object for a long time, and really obsess over it and perfect it. We have a brand called Horti which we recently got - they make ties and brooches and stuff. They’re made so well and super original.
Matilda: We have some really fun new jewellery designers - this one called Emma Anaïs Anscheidt. She does beautiful silverware and she sews buttons onto the silverware.
Timna: Genevieve Devine. She uses antique fabrics and spoons, so she makes these spoon earrings. It’s playful but high end.
And what about the merchandising inside the store?
Matilda: We’ve commissioned an artist friend to make these amazing shelves. In terms of merchandising, we’ve put a lot of effort into moving from a pop-up, where designers had their own sections, to really curating and grouping items that work well together.
Elif: It’s very instinctive.
Matilda: Sometimes we’re all in there playing dress up! Figuring out what looks good together.
If someone was wanting to create something similar, what advice would you give them?
Elif: I think it’s really simple - just be nice to everyone. To the customer, to the people you’re working with, to the designers you’re representing. Fashion can have this reputation for being unapproachable, but being nice gets you way more places!
Timna: And don’t do it alone!
Any exciting plans or upcoming ventures or goals for the next year?
Timna: We’re planning some pop-ups abroad. So our first one will be in Paris in September, for fashion week. It’s already all planned - we’re super excited.
Matilda: We’re also starting a newsletter, which hopefully will allow us to introduce our designers a bit better. Getting better at marketing and communications!
Elif: Yeah, we’re starting a monthly Alta post that will introduce a brand every month and have a little Q+A with pictures etc.
Matilda: And we want to go into menswear. We get a lot of men coming in wanting to dress fun as well! But we’ve found it harder to find independent menswear brands.
Timna: Menswear brands, get in touch!
Threads of the week
Still in Lisbon, weather is getting warmer. Wearing a vintage Harley Davidson tee, silk skirt from Zilver and Prada (men’s) technical sandals.
Loose Threads
A big few weeks for fashion. The Matchesfashion announcement, the Oscars, Chioma Nnadi’s first Vogue cover, Carlos Nazario leaving i-D. This industry is a rollercoaster right now. Meanwhile, Phoebe gets ever hornier.
Jason Okundaye’s book is out! Can’t wait to read it. This is a super interesting podcast where he discusses his and writing process. I was also lucky enough to commission him back when I was Features Editor at Browns Fashion - I especially enjoyed this piece he wrote on what writers wear.
A really interesting photography concept.
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