Anthony Rutgers (yes, relation!) has retail bred in the bone. He grew up in Aspen — his parents still live there — and started working at Pitkin Country Dry Goods, a 50-year-old clothing store in the heart of town, as a teenager. Even now, after coming to the city a couple decades ago for jobs in sales and supply chain logistics at LVMH and Marc Jacobs, it’s at PCDG where he established his foundation in retail and fashion. “That’s where I learned it all.”

Now he and his husband, David Roth, have launched their first brick and mortar on Hudson at Duane Park for their outerwear company, Aztech Mountain. They founded the company in 2013, after Rutgers spotted an opportunity in the outerwear space. At the same time, one of their favorite retailers noted that she needed more higher-end outerwear, so they pulled the trigger. The line took off, and is carried at 120 stores in 10 countries, including Bergdorf’s here. (The name is a play on a ski run at Aspen.) But it took a pandemic to see their vision in storefront form.

The company seems to blend both of their skills: Roth is a forensic accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and he and his father have their own retail operation of sorts. They are developing and expanding the classic Adelphi Hotel in Saratoga Springs. And to add even more street cred to a ski company, the Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller joined as a partner in 2016. At first Rutgers and Roth did the designs themselves, but now they have Casey Cadwallader, currently the creative director at Thierry Mugler, as the fourth partner.

Their niche is not just high-end, but also super technical: performance materials and construction, with precision detailing and a design aesthetic that toggles between the slopes of Aspen and the streets of Tribeca. (The couple and their 15-month-old daughter, Livingston, live in both places.)

Clearly the past year and a half was not a good one for just about any fashion company, but when rents became a bit more reasonable, it opened the opportunity for retail, which until now they didn’t think they could afford.

“This was always something we wanted to do,” Rutgers said. “It’s been eight years, we have an extensive collection today, and it gets cold in New York. We wanted to make sure everyone could stay warm and look good.”

And establishing a storefront in the neighborhood allowed them to be close to home and their daughter. Their headquarters is in the back of the store. They also have some fun things planned that you can only do with a retail store: meet customers, host events (they did a coat drive in December), and showcase other brands that they love and wear, including a hiking collection from Norway and a running collection from Paris.

“It’s a space for us to play with our vision and to have a point of view — ours, of course, is on performance and performance sports.” And, he added, he likes that the company is now established here in Tribeca. “There’s not a ton of retail here, but what’s here is really great. 180 The Store, Korin, Thom Browne — it feels good to be down here with people we know in the industry and personally.”

Aztech Mountain
42 Hudson at Duane
646-449 8558