Tina Bhojwani and Alvertos Revach met in the early 90’s as students at Georgetown University and remained in touch, meeting over the years in either Athens or New York City. Over dinner one night in 2017, Tina described how, after 20 years of working for large corporations, including Donna Karan, Theory and Dolce & Gabbana, she was ready to do something different that contributed to the greater good. Alvertos had recently left his family business to set up Humble Holdings, an investment fund focused on sustainable businesses. They discussed the urgent need for sustainable practices in the fashion industry - a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater pollution, among other impacts, globally - and how they could work together in this pursuit.
Soon after, as Tina was in the process of researching a platform to create luxurious yet sustainable products within the fashion industry, she bumped into shoe designer Jean-Michel Cazabat. Having worked together in the past, they easily fell into conversation. Jean-Michel described his own career turning point, as he had just sold his shoe company and was looking to the future and a way to make a difference.
Tina and Jean-Michel met days later and started discussing the possibility of making vegan and sustainable shoes that, Tina insisted, “cannot look like they are vegan.” Jean-Michel was up for the challenge and already had some ideas regarding materials along with strong relationships with factories in Italy’s Veneto region. Once the idea was solidified, they shared it with Alvertos, who was immediately intrigued. He was convinced after he tried a pair of vegan shoes that Jean Michel had made for him in the summer of 2018 - and so AERA was born.
