Atelier 360 co-founders Veronique Lee and Liz Logie hope to form a niche for sustainable clothing and fashion designers with the opening of their new boutique in Greenwich Nov. 1.
The sustainable luxury clothing, accessory and lifestyle store is the first of its kind, Lee said. “We want people to appreciate these items; how they”™re made, the stories behind them,” she said. “There”™s nothing like this.”
Each item in the store at 113 Greenwich Ave. falls into at least one of five sustainable classifications: handmade by an artisan, organic, repurposed, made in the United States, exclusively offered at Atelier, or a combination of the five.
Similar to the natural foods trend, Lee said people are increasingly asking where their clothing comes from, who makes it and out of what materials it”™s made. People have already begun remodeling their lifestyles ”“ now they can do it in high-end style, she said.
One of the artists featured in the store”™s opening collection is Monisha Raja, designer of the Love is Mighty shoe line.
Raja”™s vegan shoes feature tribal embroidery from artisans near Gujarat, India. The handiwork, full of colorful and elaborate patterns, has been vanishing in the region as rapid urbanization and more lucrative jobs take hold there.
In an attempt to preserve the generations-old craft, Raja started her company as a social experiment to see if she could run a profitable business that was able to preserve the culture”™s heritage and pay the artisans fairly.
Up and running for two years now, Raja said the business has taken off. The shoes are sold online and are now in three stores, including in Greenwich and Manhattan”™s Lower East Side.
A pair costs between $220 and $350. Natalie Portman is among celebrities who have recently bought pairs.
“It”™s very sad we”™re losing this incredible technique,” Raja said. “And it”™s not just there. We”™re losing our heritage across the globe.”
Other designers featured in the store include Susan Woo and her line of clothing made from organic fabrics, Michelle Peglau and her Peruvian knitwear company Hortensia, and John Michael of Artists & Revolutionaries, who repurposes old fabrics and leather to make new clothing.
Lee and Logie said they opened Atelier 360 to give customers a 360-degree view of both the world of fashion and fashion”™s impact on the world.
Both New Canaan residents bring strong backgrounds in fashion and business to their new enterprise, hoping that their combined experiences will help the store take off.
In addition to working for the luxury house Aux Trois Quartiers in Paris, among other places, Lee traded commodities and bonds at Cargill. Logie started her career as a corporate banking attorney and later launched her own fashion line of shirts for women, which were sold in retail stores such as Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Mitchells Richards.
“It”™s very inspiring to work with designers who are passionate about what they make and their impact on the world,” Logie said. “We really want this to be a place to come for unique products people can feel good about.”
