Alice + Olivia at NYFW

Inspired by the illustrated pop up books of Benjamin Lacombe, the designers at Alice + Olivia created a collection that represented ‘elegance, fragility and melancholy’ that was appropriately presented against a gothic fairytale backdrop. Speaking of the collection the designer (Bendet) said that it had ‘dark, sexy ties’ to the Victorian era, and this was clear to see across the whole collection, if not with a modern twist.

Through rich textures and Victorian-esque prints, the collection represents a feminine, but powerful, woman. The collection puts a sexual spin on traditional Victorian dress-knee high leather boots, sheer lace, luxurious looking black embellished mini dresses and leather corsets- whilst the baroque prints keep to the Victorian inspiration from which the collection stems from. The most dramatic piece comes in the form of a gorgeous, floor length red baroque print coat, that again becomes luxuriously modern when mixed with blue denim.

This collection holds one of my favourite inspirations- who doesn’t love a dark, gothic fairytale? The red lips, black choker detail, the opulent Victorian prints and enchanting backdrop wins me over every time!