Antonin Tron is ready to take Atlein to a bigger stage.
After two seasons of presenting the year-old label in his private apartment on trendy Boulevard Beaumarchais, the designer plans to stage his first catwalk show in Paris on March 2. The collection, while still rooted in the draped jersey pieces that made him a hit with fashion editors and buyers, will expand to include a weightier wool jersey suitable for more tailored pieces. In addition, he is introducing a smattering of knits and a new category: shoes.
“I think it was right for the first two seasons to show the collection in a very intimate presentation, but now it’s time to give body to the brand,” said Tron, sitting in his living room surrounded by green plants and vases from his collection of Sixties-era Vallauris ceramics.
“A runway show is important because it allows me to communicate to the world at large a more global vision,” he added.
The display will feature a mix of professional and street-cast models, alongside friends like Aymeline Valade. With her beauty, outspokenness and athletic physique, the French model and actress — who happens to be Tron’s former room-mate — embodies the spirit of Atlein, he explained.
A graduate of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Tron started out designing men’s wear at Louis Vuitton, followed by women’s wear at Givenchy and Balenciaga — where he began under then-creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, worked with Alexander Wang and still freelances for Demna Gvasalia.
“At Vuitton I learned how to create a luxury product,” he said. “It’s where I really learned about design and working with manufacturers. It’s something that tends to be forgotten in Paris, where the focus is very much on creating for the catwalk, but to me, the relationship with the factory is at the heart of what we do.”
To wit, Tron launched his own brand after finding the perfect supplier of jersey in the Vosges region of eastern France. His jewelry is made by an atelier in the Marais district of Paris, and his shoes by a family-run firm near Naples, Italy.
“At Givenchy, I had a much more cross-disciplinary experience because I was doing a lot of different things. I learned about development and managing a collection,” he explained. “At Balenciaga, I really learned how to work with an atelier.”
For Tron, whose classmates in Antwerp included Gvasalia and Glenn Martens, launching his own label felt inevitable. “I’m the kind of person who needs a lot of freedom. After all those years of apprenticeship, I wanted to build something of my own,” he said.
The designer set up Atlein with his life partner and associate, Gabriele Forte, who handles the business side. “It’s Atlein like Calvin Klein,” he said of the correct way to pronounce the label’s name. “I wanted a European-sounding word.”
A keen surfer, Tron’s design philosophy is rooted in a blend of form and function — he cites designers such as Jean Muir and Claire McCardell as role models.
“I always try to keep sport as a guideline. By sport, I mean a certain fullness of structure, a level of comfort. It’s more about freedom of movement,” he explained. “It’s something you have to take into account today. I can’t picture a modern woman who is not an active woman.”
Just months after its launch, Atlein scooped the First Collections Prize at the prestigious ANDAM awards and has 15 stockists worldwide, including Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Ikram in Chi- cago, The Webster in Miami, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Boon the Shop in Seoul and Net-a-porter online.
Priced between 350 euros and 2,000 euros, or $375 to $2,135, the collection is designed to outlast the season. “If you do something completely different from one season to the next, that means that what you did last season is no longer valid and I don’t think that’s honest toward the customer,” he said.
In terms of longevity, Tron hopes to emulate designers like Azzedine Alaïa, Rei Kawakubo, Junya Watanabe or Rick Owens. “I like people who have a different point of view and who have remained very authentic,” he said. “I really respect these people who built something by themselves and made it last.”
Tron has had to put his passion for surfing on ice as he focuses on growing his business. “It’s especially hard right now because there is a huge number of brands. A lot of people are doing good work and competition is fierce — and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said.