Family is where Alejandra Alonso Rojas finds continual inspiration and strength. After the pandemic hit, she decided to sit out the spring 2021 season and head home to Spain to spend time with her beloved grandmother. The pause gave her the ability to better align her business practices with the brand values of sustainability and timeless design.
Going forward, Rojas will present two seasons a year, with intermittent drops, like the capsule the designer is releasing today through the brand’s e-commerce site. This new offering is upcycled in the sense that it’s a compilation of existing pieces, some of which were never presented to the public. But they haven’t been altered or adapted, rather they’ve been editorialized. “It was really about being creative with what we had instead of developing new things,” Rojas said on a call. “We chose garments that were signature styles for the brand and that always have a life…. We worked more on the styling or the idea of combining these garments that are from different seasons into a new collection.”
We saw a similar twist on upcycling at Coach for spring 2021, when items from previous collections were mixed with new-season pieces. One of Rojas’s goals was to underline the lasting appeal of her designs, which evolve rather than making pendulum swings, and to stress her commitment to sustainable practices. Another was to celebrate her “chosen family” in a series of photos of strong and inspiring women she knows. She’s calling it her “uplift” collection. “I want it to be positive,” she says.
The eight women featured were photographed in their neighborhoods wearing AAR designs with their own clothes. “I wanted to have a deeper connection with my customer right now, like stepping away from the fantasy. I feel the city has been through a lot, but at the same time it’s like a historical moment and so I wanted to do a documentary series [that tells] a story about the women who are wearing the clothes and how they’re wearing them.”
Starting now, AAR pieces have a lower tag price and they will never be marked down or go on sale in stores. “We want to offer consistency, both on prices and with the introduction of signature pieces that will be available every season,” said Rojas. “Our website will be the only space where our loyal customers can experience special archive sales events and VIP incentives. Why liquidate our creations?”
