AlphaTauri Unveils First Flagship Outside Austria in London
AlphaTauri, the technical fashion label named after the Red Bull-owned Formula 1 racing team, is set to unveil its first brick-and-mortar flagship outside of Austria in London on Thursday.
Taking over the former Mulberry space on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, which is a stone’s throw away from Harrods, the 3,500-square-foot store will showcase the brand’s full range of men’s, women’s and accessories offerings on two floors.
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The sleek silver space features a 20-foot-high immersive LED wall, as well as a race car from the Scuderia AlphaTauri team, hung vertically on the wall, putting the brand’s link to Formula 1 on full display. The interior is designed by Studio Riebenbauer, the same creative mind behind the brand’s 21,527-square-foot showroom in Salzburg.
Ahmet Mercan, chief executive officer of AlphaTauri, believes that London is the ideal location for the brand to begin its global retail expansion, regardless of the inflationary and political environments.
“Honestly speaking, London has always been influential in the fashion industry. It’s an important spot in the world, and it’s the home of many inspirational designers from all over the world. The city is the perfect playground for us,” he said.
The brand opened stores in Graz and Salzburg, where Red Bull is headquartered, in 2016. A flagship overlooking Vienna’s landmark St. Stephen’s Cathedral was opened last year.
AlphaTauri also established a presence in Italy in the past two years by setting up dedicated space during Pitti Uomo, via installing two pop-ups, and taking over windows of Milan’s Rinascente.
After London, Mercan said the brand has set its eyes on France, Germany, the U.S and Japan, where AlphaTauri launched its first pop-up inside the Isetan department store in Tokyo a few weeks ago.
He added that this year, AlphaTauri is selling through more than 130 retail partners in 14 countries, and the brand is aiming to expand to more than 20 countries in the next couple of years.
AlphaTauri is a fashion business essentially born out of a popular Italian Formula 1 racing team with 2.6 million Instagram followers. Mercan said the connection to the race has been instrumental to success, though the brand caters to more than the die-hard Formula 1 community. The brand became an official apparel supplier to the competition earlier this year.
“Formula 1 is one of the hottest sports events at the moment. We are constantly coming up with new ideas to merge fashion and Formula 1 together. We are now dressing the F1 drivers and the team in our stylish and comfortable pieces, and to support the team’s lifestyle and add the lifestyle aspect into the world of Formula 1,” he said.
The brand will also work with its own team Scuderia AlphaTauri on the designs for new helmets and develop interesting projects together, Mercan added.
But he stressed that the brand also appeals to “a creative, progressive and loving community that values high quality, questions the status quo, is in a way sophisticated and has an active lifestyle.”
“We call them the ‘sophisticated rebels,'” Mercan said, adding that, “Our product is designed for the urban professionals, those who live in major cities like London, Paris and New York.”
AlphaTauri’s offering sits in the premium contemporary range. A water-resistant 3-in-1 winter parka is 899 pounds, while a long puffer coat and a chunky knit merino wool jacket are priced at 649 pounds and 499 pounds, respectively. A logo T-shirt starts at 60 pounds, while a seamless 3D-knitted polo costs 189 pounds.
Mercan touted that the brand stands out in the market for its ability to offer pieces made with innovative technologies developed in-house. An example is the three-layer Taurobran membrane, used in making soft, waterproof and breathable parkas, trousers and sweatshirts.
“With all these technologies and innovations, which are definitely in the DNA of the brand, we always make sure that our styles remain highly fashionable and convenient. The science part is to bring all these added values and innovations into a product, without sacrificing the beauty of the product is always key,” Mercan added.
