How Iyengar and Pilobello of Alterre NY Thought of the Ideal Women’s Shoe
The idea that two pieces of a shoe should come together is strangely perfect when it comes from a brand with two founders that do the same. Alterre NY was founded by two friends, Shilpa Iyengar (now CEO) and Harmony Pilobello (now vice president), who joined forces after their time at the Parsons School of Art and Design.
“We had a few classes together,” Iyengar explained. “I had done something with Green-Wood cemetery [for one class]. Harmony walked by and was like, ‘Is that the cemetery?’”
“We went to the cemetery a few times together,” Pilobello said, laughing. The two even joined as members to go on walking tours together.
“I think we connected on similar parenting; we both have similar backgrounds, and I think we understood each other,” Iyengar continued.
Whatever the defining moment of friendship was, the two of them decided that they wanted to keep working together after they finished school.
“We started doing a couple different capsule collections pretty much right after college,” Pilobello said. “One of those collections was making clothing for a non-profit organization, Navigators USA. It’s an equal-opportunity version of Boy Scouts of America. One of the things we designed for them was a shoe.”
Pillobello’s background is in menswear, and Iyengar studied women’s wear, but their aesthetic was similar enough for them to unite in footwear.
“[We thought,] well, the shoe idea is pretty interesting. Maybe we should get into something that we have a little more control over, which is women’s footwear,” Pilobello said.
From that idea, they thought about the problems that they face as consumers: they both love traveling but hate the pain of packing multiple pairs of shoes in a suitcase. As New Yorkers, they also wanted a solution that required minimum closet space and maximum comfort for walking.
“We basically made shoes that are perfect for us,” Iyengar joked.
The mechanism of the shoes is surprisingly simple; the strap, which fits nearly every shoe base (with the exception of boots), attaches to a metal peg on the bottom of the shoe.
“You could buy one strap and have three different bases, or you can buy one base and have three different straps. It’s really easy to mix it up,” Pilobello said.
“It’s really nice because in terms of packing, you can kind of pack it like jewelry — you don’t have to really think about it,” Iyengar continued. “You can pack five straps in with the one pair of shoes that you are wearing to the airport already, or whatever, and then you have no shoes in your bag.”
Their mission for comfort ended up aligning perfectly with their goal for environmental stewardship. Blocky heels can be made of recycled plastic, but stilettos need to be made of virgin plastic (Alterre NY also makes a stiletto, but it uses a base of recycled plastic and a metal heel).
“We always do something thinking about how comfortable it will be when you’re walking, because you can love a pair of shoes, but if they’re not comfortable, you’re not going to wear them,” Iyengar said.
“I have worn stilettos for the longest date I’ve ever been on — I think 14 hours — and we were walking around the city, and I walked across the bridge in our stilettos,” Pilobello said. “It was extremely comfortable, and I do not normally wear high heels. The date at the time was like, ‘Are you doing this to show off your brand?’ and I was like, “No, these are legitimately comfortable!’”
Beyond comfort, Pilobello and Iyengar do a lot of trend research and beta-testing before deciding on a style. They have their friends give input, listen to customer feedback and check designs on a variety of skin tones to make sure they look attractive. Even so, they are sometimes surprised by the results.
“Customers will eat up the crazy styles,” Pilobello said. “We’re like, ‘Great! We thought it was just us!’”
In terms of sustainability, Pilobello looks to her time at Patagonia for general guidance, where she worked for about six years during and after college.
“I would love to be a company where customers and employees can ask us questions, and we would have already thought about it and have an answer — or at least be working towards something,” she said.
For materials, Alterre NY tries to make vegan shoes that are better for the environment than just being made of plastic. Moving forward, the founders are looking into Piñatex, a leather substitute made from pineapples that is biodegradable. They have also begun the process to become B corp certified.
“I think the biggest commitment that we’re making to ourselves is that we will strive to always pursue sustainable methods, and as we grow, there will be effort going towards it,” Pilobello said.
“Ethical luxury is kind of something we’ve been talking about,” Iyengar added. “An ethical product doesn’t have to be something that’s just brown slides. It could be fun; it could be luxurious; it could be a designer piece that is still doing [good] for the environment.”
Alterre NY also manufacturers its shoes in Brazil, in a workshop that Pilobello and Iyengar took care to choose. It took them two years to find the right fit, but they finally found one that was open about its processes and — coincidentally — run by another woman.
“They were very honest, they had the answers, and there was no shadiness at all, and I think that’s what sealed the deal for us,” Pilobello said.
On top of it all, the brand donates 5% of its profits to Restore NYC, a non-profit that helps rehabilitate survivors of sex trafficking, especially those who are recent immigrants to the city.
“It’s actually an organization that we both really care about and cared about before we even started the business,” Pilobello said. “Hopefully, when we’re bigger and can afford to, we’ll have some sort of training program for people that want to work with us through Restore.”
For now, though, the two friends-turned-co-founders are taking small steps with their company while making strides in their own designs.
