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The COVID-19 emergency is pushing many labels, small and big, to revise their strategies.
Among them, Alanui, the luxury knitwear brand founded in 2016 by siblings Carlotta and Nicolò Oddi, is focusing on delivering fewer but more focused collections.
Starting from the spring 2021 season, the label, which in December 2017 passed under the control of New Guards Group, will combine its main and pre-collections to present two men’s and two women’s ranges a year.
“The collections were becoming too many for us. Knitwear requires time and dedication since you have to play and experiment with different techniques,” said Carlotta Oddi, who is in charge of creativity at the brand. “I’m very happy I’ll have more time to dedicate to the development of each collection. My team and I will have more time to travel and be inspired by different things and I believe this will benefit the organic growth of the label.”
At the same time, to continue meeting consumers’ needs for new, fresh products, Alanui will release different drops during the year, which will be distributed in partnership with selected retailers or through the brand’s e-commerce, which is expected to be launched this year.
“The online store project has been slowed down by the coronavirus emergency, but we are working hard to develop something special, which will be unveiled in the next few months,” said Nicolò Oddi, who in responsible for the business division. “Today our business relies on wholesale distribution, but with the launch of e-commerce we expect to get closer to consumers. We still think that our physical wholesale partners play a key role since they can offer a true luxury, engaging experience.”
Alanui collections are available in about 140 stores in the world and over the past few seasons the brand developed important collaborations with prestigious retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Maxfield.
“The United States is such an important market for us and I see potential there to grow more,“ said Nicolò Oddi. “At the same time, in the short-medium term, we aim at consolidating our presence in Europe and entering the Asian market.”
In terms of retail expansion, rather than a traditional store, Alanui would opt for a more flexible project, including traveling pop-up shops in specific locations, such as Central Park in New York and the beach of Malibu.
“Our goal is to continue to grow our brand in a very holistic way. We are deeply linked with the idea of traveling and everything we do should reflect this,” said Carlotta Oddi, who is also developing a range of blankets the brand will present in September with the spring 2021 collection.
Sustainability is also another element that is very important for the brand. Last February, Alanui introduced in its fall 2020 collection a lineup of styles crafted from regenerated and organic yarns. Following this initiative, from July 7 to July 14, the brand will present to retailers via a virtual showroom a capsule collection focused on its Icon cardigans, crafted from regenerated cashmere and showing the brand’s signature geometric pattern, used by Alanui for the first collection in 2016. At the same time, the brand will also wholesale another capsule for holiday. Both the lineups will hit stores in November.
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