Today we’d like to introduce you to Shilpa Iyengar.
Hi Shilpa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It all started right after I graduated from Parsons School for Design, when I was lucky enough to be able to start a business with my best friend Harmony. We had grand ideas about what we were going to do and for the the first couple of years we experimented with doing anything from bridal accessories to a collection for a gender-neutral scouting group. In the midst of this, my shoe professor, the legendary Howard Davis, approached me about an interchangeable shoe concept. We worked together on developing this and Harmony and I decided that it was the perfect product to throw all of our resources into. Shoes that would save space in your closet and would pack light for any trip. For people living in small apartments in NYC at the time, it seemed like a no brainer. Of course, we were very naive in those days and thought this concept would take off in just a couple of years, even though Howard said it would take 10. Well I should’ve listened to him! I’m 13 years in with Alterre, and with a lot of bumps in the road, from finding the right factory to a global pandemic that shut our NY office, to Harmony exiting the company – I can still say we are alive and thriving. We just got into Macys last year and that has really helped us scale and be a more recognizable national brand. I’m excited to see where we will grow to next!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not! And as I mentioned before, the road has been full of twists and turns. Starting right away, we could’t find a reliable factory that aligned with out sustainability goals for about two years! Being a young woman didn’t help things either. Sometimes I had to take my dad to factory meetings to be taken seriously. But finally we were able to find a partner in Brazil through a family friend and we are still working with them today.
Then there were the years of slow growth where we tried everything. Trunk shows, makers markets, pop up shops… nothing seemed to work. In the changing retail industry of the 2010s, it was hard to adjust to be more targeted towards social media and online distribution than what we had been taught to do. We finally got the hang of it after we partnered with the right PR and ad agencies around 2019/2020, but keeping up with market changes is always a process.
In more recent years, the pandemic turned our world upside down. We shut our New York office and went totally remote. I moved to Miami after nomading for a few years, and my former business partner Harmony moved to LA. We both had families which brought it’s own set of changes. Harmony decided to focus on her family life and I decided to keep the company going. I had to build a new marketing team and processes that used to rely on the both of us, all while being pregnant. It was a tough time! But we’ve come out ahead now.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Alterre?
Alterre is a modular women’s shoe brand, with a patented technology that lets you change the straps between our shoes. Some shoes you can even wear as mules without the straps. But in essence it’s a way to create multiple shoes out of one. Extend your shoes past one special event, dress up a workday shoe to go out, or be able to travel with a just a couple of shoes for a week long trip and have something to wear for every occasion.
But the real reason people keep buying our shoes is that they are so comfortable. We make shoes for women who used to wear designer heels but just can’t do it anymore. We offer a designer aesthetic with comfort in mind, and a price point that isn’t eye watering. Our bestselling style is actually most popular with brides, with styles for the whole bridal party to customize with whichever strap style fits best.
We are also very proud to have been awarded the Butterfly Mark from Positive luxury for our excellence in sustainability. Plus we donate 5% of profits from every purchase to help fight sex-trafficking through Restore NYC. We just don’t design shoes, we make sure our community benefits and that we create responsibly, too.
Right now you can find Alterre online at Macys and Wolf and Badger as well as our own website www.alterreny.com. Our discontinued styles can even be found at TJ Maxx or Manymoons if you’re hunting for a deal!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the pace of life in Miami, especially coming from NYC. I’m grew up in West Palm Beach, so a more lifestyle focused way of living always suited me. I love that people don’t immediately ask me what I do for work in the first conversation and we can share common interests first. I also love that Miami has an amazing fine art scene that is really bringing something new to the conversation especially through Latin American artists that aren’t as well represented up north. And finally, I love the outdoor activities that are available year round. From kayaking with baby sharks in the winter to scuba diving in the summer, there is never a shortage of things to do in nature.
What I like least is probably the absence of a more established fashion industry. I miss having more peers in New York and just the interesting styles you would see on the street. It’s a raw creativity I struggle to find since everything in Miami seems to be polished. It’s not a bad thing to have nice and new buildings and glamorous places, but sometimes it feels shallow.
Pricing:
- $250 average
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alterreny.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alterreny/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alterreny/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alterre-shoes
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/alterreny/
