Alejandra Alonso Rojas' Resort 2025 collection balances feminine ease with bold, optimistic tones

Alejandra Alonso Rojas' collections usually begin with inspiration from beach destinations, but this season, the Spanish designer was nostalgic for the city where she was born: Madrid.

“I had a lot of memories from there. For some reason I had the sky in my head, so the whole collection started with the blue sky,” she said. “They always say that there is no blue sky like Madrid.”

The tone also reminded him of Picasso's blue era; she tiles the city streets and her favorite paintings: “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch and “Las Meninas” by Diego Velázquez, which she saw in the Prado Museum when she was a child.

She said the inspirations came together organically to produce the pretty, bright, light blue tones that run through her resort collection, as seen in a striking silk backless dress. Here, color was the main story, further amplified by bright fuchsia, red and golden yellows inspired by traditional bullfighting costumes from the Terreiro. However, her monochromatic black looks were equally attractive with their subtle tonal jacquard watercolor print of Botero's sculpture that welcomes visitors at Madrid airport with hidden writings of “Madrid” and “ Alejandra Alonso Rojas.”

Textures and sleek silhouettes also came into play. Cloudy skies inspired new hand-dyed Japanese Shibori looks: more directly, a new airy kaftan and, less obviously, bold pink bias dresses. And memories of her father wearing tailored suits inspired the designer to not only raise the bar on elegant tailoring (including a fun new red skirt suit), but also to create her own herringbone motif using another elaborate Shibori technique. folding fabric around a pipe, wrapping it with rope, and tossing the pipe into the colorful dye.

It's just one of the experimental craft techniques that have come to signify Alonso Rojas' eight-year-old brand, which has been growing and maturing with the addition of a new bridal category and the opening of a showroom in New York.

The well-thought-out and handmade processes speak to its overall ethos of “reinforcing the concept of slow fashion and a wardrobe that has so many possibilities,” she said.

In this sense, the designer adapted her well-known tight evening silhouettes into sophisticated outfits that can be combined for day and night. There were tied cashmere cardigans that could be worn facing forward or backward with long bias skirts, and flowy silk or sheer organza blouses with skirts or pants. A standout new bias skirt with red ladder stitch details can be paired with a cropped bustier top for evening or a gradient cashmere sweater for day.

The women's collection exuded elegance and simplicity with enough boldness that customers are looking for as fashion emerges from its quiet era of luxury.

It's also notable that crochet, a mainstay of Alonso Rojas' collections, has been noticeably reduced this season. The reasoning was his desire to go more into basic styles and knits for the resort, with the plan to go more into crochet for spring.

“Sometimes in winter and resort collections, people don't understand crochet as much as they do when it comes to a summer collection,” she said, also highlighting the importance of balancing collections when they inevitably hang together on the sales floor. retail. Alonso Rojas stated that this positioning arises from his close relationship with clients.

“I'm actually the one who receives emails from customer service. It's a lot of attention: our return rate is really low because I ask them for measurements; We advise them and also offer free tailoring for customers when they buy from us,” she said.

She loves to be involved, both online and in person, at her New York showroom that opened six months ago as a place for clients to shop by appointment for her thoughtful ready-to-wear and new bridal collection.

“That's what people come to us for, so we try to offer it as if it were a boutique,” he said.