In partnership with AlphaTauri
The sweeping architectural lines and curvilinear façade of the Harbin Opera House, in the north-eastern Chinese city, provide the starting point for the latest collection from AlphaTauri, a fashion offshoot of Austrian beverage behemoth Red Bull (AlphaTauri is also the name of one of the brand’s two Formula One teams under the Red Bull umbrella). ‘An impressive contemporary architectural masterpiece,’ says the brand of the building’s design by the Beijing-based studio MAD Architects.
Architectural elegance: AlphaTauri A/W 2022
He wears ‘Koov’ packable waterproof Taurobran Pinnacle parka, £899; ‘Waarg’ easy-care cotton shirt, £139; ‘Pelac' slim wool-mix pants, £249. She wears ‘Orata’ wool pea coat, £599; ‘Shinta’ mockneck logo sweater, £179; ‘Proski’ flared knit skirt, £199
The Salzburg-based AlphaTauri was founded in 2016, defined by feats of technical accomplishment and construction, and a fastidious approach to design. Much of this comes down to the fabrics used in its collections: cutting-edge, developed by AlphaTauri in-house, and made to protect the wearer from the elements (such tough fabrications include AlphaTauri’s signature Taurobran, a three-layer breathable membrane that is at once entirely waterproof and impossibly lightweight). The brand’s name is derived from the Alpha Tauri star, ‘the brightest, most radiant and energy-rich star in the constellation of Taurus… [its] placement directly in the bull’s eye [aligning] with the brand’s focus on precision and perfection’.
The Harbin Opera House was chosen by AlphaTauri for its feeling of juxtaposition, where, according to the brand, a sleek ‘ultra-modern’ aluminium outer shell gives way to an ‘inviting and comfortable’ interior. Such contrast also defines AlphaTauri itself, where tough performance fabrics meet a softness and elegance of silhouette, resulting in a wardrobe that has been created for the demands of the everyday. ‘Purposeful design, for body and mind,’ says the brand.
‘Ocas’ wool hooded coat, £699
Titled ‘Future Acoustics’, the A/W22 collection sees organic shapes and curved lines – once again echoing the Harbin Opera House, with its vast main structures elegantly twisting outwards into
the surrounding grounds – combine with more futuristic elements, from flashes of silver hardware to innovations in fabric and design (Taurobran is used on packable jackets and hoodies, while PrimaLoft provides featherweight padding on quilted outerwear).
Versions of the brand’s logo appear in different iterations throughout the collection’s 24 looks, divided equally between menswear and womenswear. ‘We cannot hear a futuristic image, but we can feel its sound,’ says a spokesperson for the AlphaTauri design team. ‘The new collection is futuristic acoustic: what you see translates into sound and comes out as a shape. It is modern but not in a cold or sobering way.’
‘Ocoas’ wool coat, £699; ‘Fnatu’ mockneck, £269; ‘Pelac’ pants, £249
The various pieces, spanning technical outerwear, seamless 3D-knits, wool overshirts, flannel trousers and skirts, are available in a colour palette inspired by winter walks in the snowy forests that surround Salzburg: shades of optic white and leafy green, blues evocative of the sky first thing in the morning and last thing at night, and rich touches of berry red.
Later this year, on 3 November 2022, AlphaTauri will open its first London store at 171-175 Brompton Road, London, SW3 1NF.
She wears ‘Orata’ wool pea coat, £599; ‘Shinta‘ mockneck logo sweater, £179. He wears ‘Koov’ packable waterproof Taurobran Pinnacle parka, £899; ‘Waarg’ easy-care cotton shirt, £139
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