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By marrying tech with traditional craftsmanship, 1Atelier hopes to redefine bespoke fashion for the digital age.
AThese days, bespoke fashion is the epitome of luxury. Think London's Savile Row, where people pay thousands for made-to-measure suits, or ateliers in Milan or Paris, where a predominantly female clientele comm
A hundred years ago, though, customized clothing was the norm. Manhattan was sprinkled with little shops where middle-class families could have trousers sewn from scratch or bags hand-stitched by expert artisans. It wasn't until clothing companies moved toward more efficient and less expensive mass-manufacturing models that these workshops began to disappear.
And now, a Manhattan-based startup called 1Atelier is redefining bespoke fashion for the digital age, combining old-fashioned craftsmanship and modern technology in ways that could signal the future of customization.
When you walk into 1Atelier's studio in the Garment District, tables are strewn with large bolts of premium leather, from full-grain cowhide to more exotic varieties of snake and crocodile. You can watch a master craftsman put the finishing touches on satchels, clutches, and hobos, each designed to the exact specifications of the customer. One saddle bag is made of champagne-colored python skin with a contrasting pink trim; a colorful tote comes in fuchsia, orange, and blue. There's a little machine that stamps the owner's name in gold lettering onto a label inside the bag.
"Tables are strewn with large bolts of premium leather, from full-grain cowhide to more exotic varieties of snake and crocodile.
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In the past, a client would need to visit a workshop to order a customized bag, but at 1Atelier, she can do everything online. The company's website allows customers to pick a style, then play with different colors and textures until they've dreamed up their perfect sack. The end product costs between $295 and $8,400, which puts the brand at the lower end of the luxury bag spectrum. But unlike Chanel or Céline, which requires six months or longer to ship a bespoke order, 1Atelier products are delivered to the customer in 21 days.
That's all thanks to technology, from the snazzy customization tool on 1Atelier's website to the company's backend systems that make the supply chain and manufacturing models of efficiency. "Technology is the lever that allows us to transform the entire luxury experience," says CEO Stephanie Sarka. Even the brand's logo reflects how deeply 1Atelier's mission is intertwined with tech: the number one surrounded by a circle resembles the power-on symbol.
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""Technology is the lever that allows us to transform the entire luxury experience.""
Sarka, who has spent her career in fashion, e-commerce, and angel investing, cofounded 1Atelier last year with two other veterans of the fashion industry, Frank Zambrelli and Anthony Luciano. She believes that there's a massive market opportunity to bring customization to the luxury accessories sector, which is worth $47 billion worldwide. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal from last year, 56% of luxury consumers say customization is increasingly important to them—an uptick that reflects a broader trend in consumer behavior. Deloitte research revealed that 36% of people want personalized goods and services in their everyday shopping experiences. "This makes sense," says Zambrelli, who worked at Chanel, Coach, and Judith Leiber before cofounding 1Atelier and becoming its creative director. "We're now surrounded by a culture in which we are encouraged to customize everything from our Facebook profile to the color of our smartphone. It was inevitable that this mind-set would enter the luxury industry."
