For Alejandra Alonso Rojas, fashion is never fun if there isn’t some sort of challenge involved, so this fall the designer decided to give herself a new mission—to use only her existing stock of materials. It was a move that coincided with her recent focus on being fully sustainable, only she took it one step further, telling herself she could not acquire any new fabric whatsoever until she utilized what she already had. “The collection is called ‘Metamorphosis,’ and I was thinking about how a caterpillar turns into a gorgeous butterfly,” said Rojas. “I wanted to turn what I have into something completely different.”
Last season, Rojas debuted her first entirely-eco collection, so all of the materials for the new fall assortment made use of those same fabrics. Dresses are her calling card, and here they were designed in her leftover certified-sustainable silks, then given new colors using non-toxic dyes, or reworked into new silhouettes entirely. “We started basting it, wetting it, baking it, freezing it,” said Rojas of her existing textiles. “I felt like I was back in school, just digging deep into fabric manipulations, experimenting, and trying something different.”
Her assortment of dresses were pretty and feminine, with a dash of whimsy. A red tank dress with an A-line skirt felt slightly retro, and had black bows at the shoulder. A strapless, sky-blue column dress featured all-over pleating and crinkling that was inspired by Spain’s master of plissé, Mariano Fortuny. The one-shouldered silk dress, with a flower pom on the shoulder, made an effortless statement. It was a nod to Tina Chow, who served as a big muse for the season. “She was a huge collector of Fortuny dresses,” said Rojas. “I loved how she would collect couture, but then mix it. She was a real inventor of effortless-chic.”
Though dresses, in a sweet color palette inspired by butterflies, flowers, and fruits, were the highlight (especially the blue drop-waist gown with horizontal ruching along the bodice), Rojas also made striking separates. They weren’t your standard basics: She designed pieces like a slinky khaki trench with a removable floral brooch, or a silky top with a dramatic scooped open back. Her silky tops could be worn solo, or as a set with the matching skirts. “A lot of people come to us for dresses, but I wanted to see how I can make separates that feel like you’re wearing a dress,” she said. This expanding of her universe felt fresh: Rojas has long cultivated her signature focus, and to see her branch out of solely dresses was promising.