Alternative Apparel Blog

Inside Alternative: Tiffany Ruiz

Street fashion aficionado and design extraordinaire, Tiffany Ruiz is the latest addition to Alternative’s Los Angeles Design Lab. Coming from a lifelong interest in fashion which led her to a design career, this California girl has what it takes to create super comfortable and fashionable pieces for our brand. As Alternative’s Women’s Designer, Tiffany brings tons of creative ideas to the inspiration board in order to build the brand’s seasonal collections.

Inside the Brand: Project Alternative

Last night, members of the Alternative family gathered together at our headquarters to participate in a competition inspired by the popular fashion design television show, Project Runway. Atlanta and L.A. employees with a wide range of fashion design backgrounds entered into the Project Alternative competition. Some had a head start as they are designers in our L.A. office, while others had a chance to express a rarely seen creative side as members of our Warehouse, Human Resources and Customer Experience departments.

Alternative's Best of 2011

With the year coming to a close, we wanted to give our community a quick look into the past with our hand-picked list of the top 11 best Alternative moments of 2011. From fashion shows and events to charity partnerships and grand openings, these are our most memorable moments of the year.

11. Earlier this month, we launched our Abbot Kinney store’s T-Shirt Recycling Program benefiting Upward Bound House in efforts to eliminate homelessness in California.

10. In March, our PR team went on the road to Austin, Texas for SXSW to promote the brand and share in all the fun. We hosted the Alternative Lounge and served as the go-to spot for VH1 interviews with popular artists like Foster the People, Duran Duran, Dirty Vegas and Moby.

9. In April, we introduced a year-long partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and designed the Alternative Pink Ribbon collection which gives 10% of retail price to benefit breast cancer with a minimum $25,000 donation.

Featured Artist: Randy Noborikawa

Everyone has a different way of bringing an idea to life. For instance, some people might write it down immediately, some might call a friend to discuss and others tend to use artistic forms like music or art to bring “something from an idea to reality,” in the words of Randy Noborikawa.

Make a Difference with Upward Bound House

During the season of giving, we'd like to highlight a Santa Monica non-profit organization that really adds true meaning to the word giving. California’s Upward Bound House gives shelter and provides necessary supplies like clothing to homeless families with children. Their mission is to help eliminate homelessness aby providing these families in need with housing, support and encouragement to get back on their feet.

To support this worthy cause, we launched a T-Shirt Recycling Program benefitting Upward Bound House. This holiday season, we'd like to welcome all LA-area shoppers into our flagship Abbot Kinney store to donate gently used t-shirts in exchange for 15% off any Alternative item for each shirt you donate, up to two items per visit. The program will run through the holiday season until January 31, 2012 and all collected clothing will be given to Upward Bound House.

Oasis of Color: Alternative's Spring 2012 Collection at LA Fashion Week

 
What a week! While our website saw the launch of our new holiday collection with soft, cozy pieces for the winter ahead, our spring 2012 collection was hitting the runway during LA Fashion Week! The collection, entitled Oasis of Color, features sun-bleached desert washes, bold prints and a vibrant color palette, landscape of California’s Palm Springs desert. Looks were modeled for both women and men at Vibiana, a renovated cathedral in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The runway show was styled by Ilaria Urbinati and featured additional products by Soludos espadrilles and Pennyroyal jewelry; hair was done by Warren Tricomi & make-up by Napoleon Perdis.  Guests at the show were also treat to a live music performance by the incredibly talented and super soulful singer-songwriter Ry Cuming.

Above: Highlights from the show including interview with Alternative's Founder Greg Alterman and Design Director Lissa Zwahlen.  Below: Full runway show.