Welcome to the Alternative Blog, your hub for all things Alternative. Here, you'll get the latest on our community, as well as fashion, music, pop culture, and more!
We were lucky enough to spend a day at the beach with the seriously talented Ry Cuming. A professional surfer turned musician, Ry was discovered at age 18 while strumming his guitar in a hotel hallway in Costa Rica. Since then, the Australian-born singer-songwriter has devleoped his pop-acoustic sound into an eponymously titled album of hook-filled songs that range from hushed, tender melodies to gritty, rocking tracks. Inspired by his lifelong love of the ocean and longtime relationship with romance, Ry's music is available for download at rycuming.com.
Alternative is thrilled to present The Peach Kings, this season's featured artists and the faces of our Spring 2012 campaign. We can't get enough of this rising indie band, made up of Paige Wood and Steven Dies, so we asked them to bring their "gypsydelic" sense of style to our "Oasis of Color" spring collection. Check out The Peach Kings in our new Spring Lookbook and make sure you enter to win our Peach Kings' Top Picks Sweepstakes to take home their favorite spring styles!
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.
60’s rock legend Gram Parsons loved Joshua Tree National Park. He loved it so much in fact, he made it known amongst his friends that when he died he wanted be cremated and his ashes scattered at his favorite landmark, Cap Rock.
A writer’s assistant, a political activist, an actor and a psychologist are hanging out one day... No, this is not the first line of a cheesy joke; it’s actually just a few of the broad range of careers held by the eclectic group of individuals who makeup California’s Silver Lake Chorus.
Formed in Los Angeles in 2010, The Silver Lake Chorus (TSLC) is not your average Bach-singing choral group. Rather, this new-age chorus is made up of more than 20 young, hip songsters who sing to the beat of their own drums (literally) and croon to some of their favorite indie songs from artists like Radiohead, Phoenix, John Gold and Beck. Creative Director Samantha Rader founded the group, Michael Wells directs it and Heather Ogilvy arranges the music, adding in TSLC’s very own harmonious flair.
