Alton Lane Brings Bespoke Fashion to Event Gifting and Corporate Apparel

• A Custom-Tailored Experience at Affordable Prices 
• Creating an In-store Experience

Consumer brands almost always enter the rewards, recognition, and gift business for a single reason: a customer asks if their products and services can be used for some type of organizational program. It was no different for the custom clothing brand, Alton Lane: some of the consumers who shop at any of its dozen showrooms on the East Coast and in the South asked about the ability to set up a custom-fitting at a business event or in one of the showrooms. 

 

The answer was an immediate yes, says Baxter Gilliam, Chief Operating Officer. “We offer the ability to provide a ‘Tailored’ experience for groups in our stores or at events in a way that brings people together in a relaxing, intimate, and multi-sense setting—with drink, socialization, and a personal fitting.” The company has held custom-fittings at its own showrooms for many business and social occasions, as well as at business events at hotels, resorts, sporting events, and convention halls, some of them using pop-boutiques, others the company’s custom-designed Airstream. 

 

Alton Lane represents a new category of personal clothiers enabling individuals to select custom-made suits, blazers, shirts, and shoes in an intimate showroom setting. Alton Lane enables customers, working with an experienced stylist, to select from a wide variety of fabrics and styles and have each item hand-crafted by master tailors within a few weeks. The fitting and measurements include a state-of-the-art 3D body scanner that provides precise measurements (without personal images) to provide additional details for the tailors. If there is any kind of problem with the fit upon delivery, the recipient can take it to an Alton Lane location to receive alterations at no cost or take the garments to a local tailor and receive an Alton Lane credit for the cost of adjustments. 

 

Explains Gilliam, “Our order-on-demand business model makes it possible for us to provide signification customization and personalization across a full range of products, as well as the ability to bring to events sufficient and appropriate samples for fitting purposes at a very competitive price.” The company’s vertically integrated supply chain, he says, leaves room for the company’s channel partners in the events and promotional business to make competitive margins and the orders much larger than traditional promotional products. 

 

Alton Lane offers multiple options for fitting experiences for men and women. Because everything is custom fit, the showroom or event boutique needs to include only the fabrics and styles to be displayed and used for the fittings. Alton Lane can set up a pop-up boutique at a hotel, resort or convention center; close for a private event any one of its 12 showrooms, which are in 12 popular locations, including Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Charlottesville, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, New York City (Flatiron District and Tribeca), Raleigh, Richmond, and Washington, DC. Most of the showrooms have small “secret” rooms for very small groups that can be catered with food and drink, as well.  

 

Alton Lane’s most unique event feature is a custom-restored 1978 Airstream that can be set up almost anywhere, including sporting events and convention halls. It features an outdoor canopied lounge, indoor TV, bar, and 3D body scanner. (Note to planners—the ability to roll a mobile exhibit on to a show floor can save on drayage costs at many convention centers.) “Organizations can use the experience as a fund-raiser, and even create a name for their own line incorporating some element of the organization’s color or brand while giving individual’s a range for personal expression through fabric selection and customization. He adds, “Companies or associations can create a line of branded apparel with their own label for employees to wear at major events or meetings that enable each person to preserve their individuality in fit, fabric selection, and style.” 

 

The company aims to counter brick-and-mortar shopping headwinds by having conveniently located intimate showrooms designed to create an experience. As Colin Hunter, Alton Lane’s CEO explains, “At Alton Lane, custom doesn’t just end with the perfect fit, it begins there. It’s born out of a conversation and connection with our style experts, created in welcoming spaces designed to inspire. Our perfect fit is helping you look, feel, and be your absolute best. This is beyond custom clothing—this is a full experience designed around our customers..” 

 

While Alton Lane has developed a reputation as one of the top custom brands in the menswear space, they have leveraged their business model and supply chain to develop an exclusive selection of clothing, accessories, and shoes for women as well. 

 

Alton Lane’s customers generally range in age from young professionals in their mid-20s to mid -50s, says Gilliam. “Our customers are people who want to feel confident that they look their best in every situation, whether for personal or business reasons. They want their clothing to express who they are and they appreciate the attention to detail in both product and service that we are able to provide.”