Alejandra Alonso Rojas poured her love of the sun and beach into her resort collection, tacking images of shells, seaside family photos, and ’90s supermodels in swimsuits to her mood board. There they shared space with snaps of Salvador Dalí and Surrealist art—which explains the melting clock and lip-shaped sofa in the look book. The draped set was also a nod to the interiors of Dalí’s home in Cadaqués, Spain, which Rojas has visited. “I was going back to all of these memories of our trip,” said the designer. “I started exploring the different shapes in Dalí’s artwork, all of the colors…. I felt like it was a world of endless possibilities.”
While the Surrealists probed the subconscious and surfaced it in their art, Rojas instead dove into the sea, rising to the surface with underwater treasures and mythical creatures. A spray of coral-like fabric festoons the strap of a reef-like crochet dress, and a red bias-cut number has a delicate coral bead detail. Handmade marble prints capture the textures of the sea, and an iridescent laminated denim (a welcome option for day) its shimmer. Likewise, allover silver sequins on a made-for-holidays pantsuit recall the scales of fish. The inclusion of on-trend mermaid dresses was not forced but rather extended the overall aquatic theme of the offering. The silhouette also plays into the sinuous dresses the designer is known for.
AAR staples like crochet-and-leather combinations reappear here, but most compelling was the way the designer translated her best-selling drawstring slip dress from satin into a cashmere. It’s a piece that can be self-styled (ruched or not) and dressed up or down. The ease of it seemed to capture the mood emanating from the images of Dalí on the beach that she pinned to her board and made me wonder what an AAR collection inspired by the Surrealist’s casual personal style, rather than his art, might look like.
