Prince Albert of Monaco’s niece, Pauline Ducruet, has curated a special pop-up shop in Riva Tunnel for her upcycled, unisex brand Alter. The 50-or-so pieces will be available for purchase until Sunday this week.
Pauline Ducruet, ex-student of Parsons School of Design in New York, is showcasing her Spring Summer collection this weekend. First displayed at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year, her label focuses on sustainability as well as reimagining gender norms in the fashion world.
A collection for everyone
“Alter is for everyone,” Ducruet told Monaco Matin. “Men, women, transgender, gender fluid and non-binary. We try to include everyone, to make clothes for a person and not for a gender. We don’t put people in boxes.”
You can certainly see this in her collection, the denim and silk focused pieces well suited to any and all. Almost reminiscent of some form of underground Big Top, the items are hung before a backdrop of silk sheets and striped material.
The contrast between high fashion pieces and this rather industrial setting all form part of her image for the label.
“I’ve taken things from the eighties, such as the flashy colours. With Alter, it’s all about contrast. There’s as much pretty Italian silk as there is denim or recycled leather.”
Sustainability at its core
The collection is made from a mixture of upcycled and new materials. A practice which is increasingly followed in the fashion industry, Ducruet is conscious of the effects her label could have on the environment.
“All the denim is recycled. It’s already been worn,” she proudly admits. “You can find them in thrift stores, in wholesale. We don’t make denim or leather, which require a lot of water and chemicals. Tracing the silk and cotton I use is also very important. Fashion is an industry that pollutes a lot, and it is important to take action to change that.”
The pop-up shop can be found at Riva Tunnel until this Sunday.