Alessandra Rivera x Sidereal Haus
Sidereal Haus x Alessandra Rivera Bespoke Hat
Photo Credit: Bailey Beckstead
Downtown Manhattan bolsters young, creative visionaries. Milliner Alessandra Rivera is definitely one to note within the Lower East Side enclave she calls home to her atelier. As a formally trained designer, graduating from Parsons in 2010, Rivera prides her craftsmanship in making one-of-a-kind bespoke hats. The idiom — ‘the devil is in the details’ — would be an understatement for this talented creator with a made-to-measure business model.
Before her time in New York City, Rivera relishes her formative years, “I’m originally from a small town in Pennsylvania called New Hope. It’s a cool, arts-focused village. Various creatives have called it home, including Andy Warhol. Lots of interesting energy to grow up around. It definitely fostered my interest in the arts.”
Like many youthful, artistic enthusiasts coming to New York City with big dreams, countless are faced with a decision to either work for someone else or go independently in commerce for their livelihoods. “I’ve always wanted my own business, but never thought I would create my own label so soon out of school,” Rivera says. With an intuition to move forward, the burgeoning designer set forth on a solo mission almost a decade ago. Here, Rivera shares everything from her beginning years to how and why she wanted to collaborate on a Sidereal Haus x Alessandra Rivera custom hat inspired by the Haus itself and of course, Jackson, Wyoming:
Alessandra Rivera
When did Alessandra Rivera become a ‘brand’?
“I had just started working for a clothing line and was hired to be an assistant creative to bring new energy into an existing brand that had been around for 20 years. They really hadn’t found a connection to customers that were my age, and I was very excited, because it was my first real job out of college as a designer. The base pay was 20K a year, which doesn’t get you far in New York City. After spending six months there, I wasn’t being used creatively.
At that time period, I was sitting on idle hands with so much energy, so I just started my own side projects. In 2011 I started selling to friends, boutiques in SOHO and small stores in my hometown and then from there, I realized what I was creating had legs with a customer base.”
Tell me about your creative space and studio?
“My atelier is right in the middle of downtown Manhattan on Bowery and Broome; a loud, bustling area. It’s the same block that Jean-Michel Basquiat got his start. That energy is still present and I have been here for five years. It definitely provides inspiration and also an area that represented a place where people didn’t always have a lot of money. Or didn’t have investors or backing, but still were able to make something happen for themselves. I was able to find the unicorn of all landlords who still wants to keep the artistic energy alive in the area and creativity downtown. Such a blessing to have a space downtown in Manhattan and not in Brooklyn or elsewhere.”
When did you feel that you’ve ‘made it’ in your career as a designer?
“It was the year of the Grammy’s in 2013, where Pharrell wore that large hat that got so much publicity and attention to the point where celebrities and sports athletes were showing a big interest in hats thereafter. The exposure put hats on the map again and were suddenly utilized more in fashion. Before the Grammy’s, I realized that I needed to be more in the game with people in the Los Angeles market. So, I would go out west often and take little meetings and ‘fake it till I make it’ by cold calling stylists and publicists. I had sent my portfolio to this pr team and they had passed along my hats to this design team Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn who style everyone across the board from Jennifer Lopez to Pharrell and Gwen Stefani — they dressed everyone for the red carpet.
Even though they didn’t, in the end, pick my hat, the fact alone that I was chosen in the running, to be given an opportunity, to be put in the spotlight, felt incredible. I was in the mix. Pharrell of course ended up wearing that vintage hat by Vivienne Westwood, but at least I knew for my own personal self-confidence I was onto something. It may have not been ‘my big moment’ but it signified to me that I was doing something right and kept pushing for it!”
Alessandra Rivera
Where are you at today as a designer and milliner in New York City amidst the backdrop Covid?
“It’s a very wild time to be a designer, let alone designing in New York City and just living in New York City. I found it to be more powerful than anything. It’s a great time for me to come more into my own as a young designer. People right now who are most affected with the pandemic come from this part of country and have represented with my brand and product. I found more and more people reaching out to me — realizing that I am still small — with them more interested in buying product from me. I personally found it as a blessing for me creatively, being locked up and not distracted to allow your mind to grow. It can be a great time if you use it the right way.”
How would you define your personal style?
“I would say it’s pretty eclectic. I love vintage because I like figuring out how things are made — pieces that are constructed in unique ways and how I can learn from them as a designer. I have vintage pieces from France that I found in flea markets. Other pieces from all around the US as I’m traveling. Things that just make me happy. It’s usually the energy of the piece that makes me light up.”
Share your approach to maintaining a sustainable life?
“It’s human to not have everything fully be perfect and it’s hard to keep up with being perfect in a sustainable way. When you strive for perfection, I don’t think that’s a healthy way to approach life, because in turn it dominates your way of thinking. If you do what you can on a day-to-day perspective within your control, then naturally you start to gain a new way of life.
Sustainability comes very natural to me in my designs. I love vintage clothing, learning from older generations. When I’m sourcing and buying, I’ll take inspiration from a curiosity in how it’s made and created. I think it’s important to learn from them; just because it isn’t the newest thing, doesn’t mean it’s broken, unusable or ugly. I think it should be the right balance of finding old ways and making them new again. As much as we know with fast fashion today — those products aren’t wanted at consignment shops because they are poorly made. It’s crap! Then it gets thrown in the trash! If I buy anything that’s new, I wear it until it falls apart.”
Sidereal Haus Founder Jessica Kaplan taking in Jackson’s magic hour.
It’s a little unconventional to do a collaboration with a house! What made you want to partner with us?
“It definitely excited me, because from what I’ve seen from the space and its development — from where it started to where it is now — it’s definitely been a journey of a very cool project. Where at its core, is intended for people with creativity at their heart. Sidereal Haus has a lot of energy that showcases that and wants to develop it. Which really at the end of the day, is what my brand is at its core — it’s creative, it’s cool, it’s always developing and thinking forward. It’s nice to put down ‘the hat’ to a place that fits in a space where you can be creative and at peace. The home represents all of the business practices that I would seek while running my own business. It’s an inspiring home, so why wouldn’t I want to do a collaboration? There’s a human connection and heart to Sidereal Haus and it aligns really well with my brand ethics.”
What was your design process like in designing the bespoke hat for Sidereal Haus?
“I was thinking a lot about what draws people to this property. Why do people want to come to Sidereal Haus? What’s the inspiration for choosing this property over any other retreat to find creative solace? I really thought a lot about what the area of Jackson provides to create. Much of it had to do, of course, with nature and the rawness of the land. The fact that Jackson is a peaceful place where people can come to collect themselves to find their own sense of self and tranquility and peace — with the hat, I tried to pull those elements.
Big, open skies alone! For someone coming from New York City into that much nature and that much wide-open space, it’s unfathomable if you’ve been living in New York for lengths of time. Many of those touchstones in Jackson are what I incorporated into the hat design. Including some of the constellations that can been seen at certain times of year from the property. I don’t take it for granted as to why I would come to a home like Sidereal Haus. I tried to keep the beauty of the Haus, which also represents these beautiful, rustic ranch elements and then meeting it with New York City. That fun, cool person who is in the know. Kind of like the rockstar who wants a break from being on the road. It’s an interesting way to combine two different cultures — peace and serenity meets this electric energy. I thought it was a really interesting balance of doing both an eclectic and minimal approach, and just the right amount of restraint in both ways with the hat.
It’s also fun! Why not!? If I’m a New Yorker and want to take a week to myself, what would I wear? I would wear a cool hat that’s fun. That house has energy and is alive. It has a soul. It’s cool to combine those details into a product.”
Who do you see buying and wearing the Sidereal Haus x Alessandra Rivera hat?
“I think for a lot of people right now, I feel like there are very excited to get traveling again and motivated to experience life and nature and make space for themselves. They’ve been with their heads down, into their routine and it’s time now to getting back to feeling good about ourselves. Taking time for our own mental health and space.
This hat suits anyone who is interested in travel that gets inspired by taking moments of calm and reflection to develop cool ideas to push their futures forward. Some people just go to resorts, others just go to cities — this hat is for someone who has two very different perspectives for life. They love their city life, but also love their peace and quiet in nature.”
What about the bespoke aspect of the hat that showcases embroidered latitude and longitude coordinates?
“The hat has the coordinates of the physical location of house that are embroidered on the side, because it’s important to Sidereal Haus’s DNA and the reason why it’s so special…it is indeed because where it’s located. Bespoke coordinates are customized for each customer where they can showcase a location that makes them happy. Sidereal Haus is a mindset and the hat collaboration evokes that nature. When you buy the hat, you can pick your own latitude and longitude coordinates of wherever you happy place is located!”
To purchase your very own, bespoke hat from Alessandra Rivera — with your very own ‘happy place coordinates’ — check out her website here.