A few years ago, designer Alejandra Alonso Rojas took a trip to Cadaqués, Spain. While in the Mediterranean seaside town, she visited the Salvador Dalí House and was inspired by the Surrealist works, interior design and artifacts. “You were kind of transported into a very imaginary world,” she said of her resort collection’s inspiration of Surrealism.
The idea was rendered subtly, and best seen through hand-marbled, colorful abstract prints that adorned her signature bias slips, crochet numbers (a baby blue dress with lace-like crochet inserts and elongated hem), a pair of high-waisted cargo pants and an adorable, simplistic “T-shirt” gown. The eye-catching prints were rendered in melted swirls of pastels and brights taken from the Dalí House, as well as the Mediterranean’s crystal waters.
Next to Surrealist references (including images from Schiaparelli), Alonso Rojas’ moodboard also displayed old photographs of family members along the coast; these memories, and the idea of the sea, became a bigger inspiration for a majority of the dressy collection.
“I was really going deep into the water and thinking about fish scales, as well as the iridescent aspects,” she said of her new purplish blue metallic coated denim, coral-inspired crochet (said to be knit separately and linked together) and new lime-colored floral jacquard numbers with seaweed-like ruffles. Additionally, she channeled the trending “mermaidcore” aesthetic with lightweight silver silk lamé dressing (a dress with tonal beaded fringe; a twisted and cropped halter neck top with breezy blazer and side-tie skirt), a waved red and black crochet statement gown, and paillette-adorned occasion looks (a sexy black crochet gown and a holiday-minded silver suit).
Although unrelated from the overall theme, Alonso Rojas’ further leaned into the season’s holiday delivery with a loungey stretch velvet tuxedo and easy ‘90s minimalist-bent dresses in black and white.
