NYC Clothing Brand Attersee Brings Casual Luxury to Retail

Walk uptown on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, hang a right at the Central Park Zoo, walk a block, and you’ll find yourself standing in front of an unassuming New York brownstone. Up the stairs, buzz the front door, and take the elevator. You’ll step into a room bathed in warm light, with dark wood and soft white walls. Welcome to the Attersee Studio.

It’s the first permanent home for Attersee, the label that has steadily gained a word-of-mouth following among those looking for clothes expertly fabricated without fuss. Founded in 2021 by Isabel Wilkinson Schor, a New York native and previously the Digital Director of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Attersee focuses on lush fabrics; simple, timeless silhouettes; and comfortable fit. Attersee’s luxury isn’t quiet; it’s casual.

A self-taught designer, Wilkinson Schor’s idea for Attersee was rooted in her own experience as a woman unable to find clothes that she actually wanted to wear. “Trying to sit at my desk for the day, and go somewhere else after work,” she says. "Just trying to find a wardrobe to make it through my daily life.” Eventually, she was ready to shift her creative aspirations from writing about clothes to creating them. 

She describes the shift from journalist to designer “like being blindfolded” as she learned a new way to tell stories. Now, she’s immersed in a new medium, exploring soft-to-the-touch materials and non-constricting silhouettes that can stand up to corporate environments, after-work events, and escapist getaways. Pieces like a button-down made of silk and wool voile, satin pants lined with silk, and newly launched knitwear embody the ease that dressy clothing can have when designed with wearability in mind. 

“It’s weirdly durable despite being so luxurious,” says Laurel Pantin, brand consultant and author of the Earl Earl newsletter, of what first attracted her to the brand. “I want to feel good and wear something really beautiful, but I also need to sit on the ground with my kids."

When the brand launched in 2021, Pantin received a red-striped caftan as part of a press gifting. She was so impressed, she bought the same caftan in blue, and then one of the brand’s popovers, and a second; next the sculptured vest, and a knitted shrug. “As someone who loves clothes, and who loves fabrics, and beautifully made things,” she says, “The slowness and integrity spoke to my lifestyle.

What began as an unnamed project of creating five perfect shirts to give to friends, and set to launch in June of 2020, snowballed as delays pushed back production. “A blessing in disguise,” Wilkinson Schor describes the pause. More SKUs, more colors, and eventually an entire Attersee world began to take shape. The first collection finally launched in 2021, and Wilkinson Schor now reflects on how much her first pieces were informed by the Covid-era desire to escape. 

“A lot of people were dreaming of travel, and far-flung locations, and friends. And yet also imbued in that first collection is this feeling of ease. We had elastic waistband shorts, long flowing caftans, giant popovers—that initial shirt became the popover. Everything felt easy.”

That initial collection feels like a capsule to Wilkinson Schor, the first inklings of what the larger vision for Attersee would become. This early spirit continues: “[It’s clothing made of] beautiful fabric that you could treat in an unconscious way. You could throw it in your beach bag.” Spring and summer collections are inspired by the concepts of travel, escape, and packability, while fall and winter are rooted in rich, cozy materials and practicality. “I am a totally different person in November than I am in August,” she adds.

Now, a permanent appointment-only studio means that Attersee has become a destination all its own. “It’s the piece that we’ve been missing this whole time,” says Wilkinson Schor. It not only offers customers the opportunity to try on clothes and get a sense of how any given item will fit before purchasing, but also finally allows the fabrics to shine in a space designed specifically to show them off. 

“The word that everyone keeps using, which is music to my ears, is warm,” says Wilkinson Schor of the space, which doubles as an office for the Attersee team. “I want this to feel inviting, approachable, warm, and happy. I want you to be able to pop in and throw your stuff down, bring a friend, bring a family member, and spend a couple hours. If you don’t want to buy anything, you can chat and have a coffee."

That intimate relationship and connection to her customers is something that Wilkinson Schor wanted in her own relationships with other brands, and part of what has inspired and informed her as she develops new seasons of Attersee. "It’s not for any reason other than it’s just fun to form these relationships with so many women that I admire,” she says.

She keeps in touch with shoppers via DM or email, sending them sneak peeks of upcoming designs during fittings and writing down their feedback on fit or color for future seasons. Like her ability to bring a casualness to tailored clothes, Wilkinson Schor carries that same unique ease into the worldbuilding of the brand.

“It does connect back to my journalism past because I loved learning about people. That's why I loved interviewing people... [Now] I realize, ‘Oh, I need to get out of this person’s fitting room. I could chat all day with this woman.’ It’s the same instinct."