Hi! We're Harmony Pilobello and Shilpa Iyengar, the co-founders of Alterre. We met in New York City at Parsons the New School for Design and bonded over a shared sense of dark humor and a love of travel. We combined our expertise in footwear and sustainable design to create our dream shoes. In our window-less studio we designed something that could match all of our outfits, pack light in our suitcase, and be comfortable to wear all day. Finally after two years, we found a fair labor factory that embraced our unique concept and sustainable production goals. In 2015, we were able to successfully launch our first footwear collection during New York Fashion Week.

In the years since we are proud to have received international acclaim from major magazines such as Fast Company, Oprah (O), The Good Trade, and Footwear News. As well as receive the Butterfly Mark Award in recognition of our excellence in sustainability.

Both of us are active in supporting female empowerment and donate 5% of profits from each purchase to Restore NY. Our donations help them provide long-term rehabilitation for survivors of sex-trafficking in New York City. We also provide peer to peer counseling as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at Restore NY for survivors who are starting their own businesses.