Many things old are new again in fashion, and not just in terms of inspirations. The made-to-order business model is getting a rethink, for example, and so is the salon-style presentation. Alejandra Alonso Rojas invited guests to tea at Cipriani House, and models walked slowly among the round tables as a pianist played. This was a more literal expression of slow fashion than Rojas usually employs.
Hand-knits are the core of her business, and from the start the designer has been working with a group of Ukrainian knitters in the States to execute her luxurious designs. Rojas dedicated her show to them, and only proceeded with the event with their blessing.
Against a backdrop of dark wood and patterned carpet, the presentation opened with a Halstonesque knit dress in mauve that was cut low in the back and with a thread-thin metal chain zig-zagging up the side. In the 1970s many designers were in thrall to the 1930s, and there was a feeling of that decade in the tailored pajama looks and slender silhouettes here. A hand-drawn zebra print conjured El Morocco, a swanky club of the ’30s. The deco feeling was heightened by the surroundings; Rojas, who has mastered the art of the slip dress, said that her mood board actually featured lots of spare 1990s looks.
Because of their tactility and colors—this season in a citrusy sorbet palette—Rojas’s pieces never read as minimal in the sense of cool or neutral. This also has to do with her typical focus on ease. The predominance of evening looks for fall is based on customers’ requests for dressy pieces that are also non-constricting. Some of the after-dark looks had both vacation and red-carpet vibes; Rojas is still finding her way here.
The newest developments were the chain details and the use of fine gauge knits. A semi-transparent red dress that fit like a body stocking was of a different stripe than the brand’s more dense, and often fringed, knits and crochets.
