Traveling is forever a source of inspiration for designers (wanderlust will tend to do that). This season, Alejandra Alonso Rojas drew from a recent family trip to Japan to influence her easy, feminine dresses and separates. “It’s one of those countries that I’ve always wanted to see,” she said, adding that she paid visits to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka. During her trip, she was struck by just how well everyone dresses—while also admiring the thoughtful details and craftsmanship that local vendors put into a variety of goods, not to mention the innate beauty of the landmark sights around them. “I went into one of the temples in Kyoto, and just cried.”
Returning home, Rojas wanted to incorporate the grounded color palette and unique silhouettes that struck her while she was in Japan. She did so in subtle ways, reworking her signature silk or viscose dresses in shades like matcha green or cherry blossom pink. “I wanted to pay tribute to their beautiful color, but within the DNA of the brand,” she said. For a few seasons now, Rojas has been toying around with Shibori dyeing, a Japanese technique where the fabric is twisted or bunched so that it creates a specific pattern. Done in shades of blue and lavender, it felt especially appropriate here given the direction.
Rojas’s dresses, as always, were the stars of the collection, though she did have other explorations for fall. The opening frock—a one-shouldered silk dress with a cascading draped back—was inspired by the gold she often saw within traditional Japanese temples. “Gold represents values of precision, patience, and respect,” she said. She was equally inspired by the shade of red, representing luck and vitality, seen at temples like the Fushimi Inari Shrine. A red spaghetti-strap viscose frock with bowed shoulders was a slight nod to the frills and bows often found within Harajuku style. “I thought all of the bows were so feminine, it just made me smile,” she recalled.
There were more unexpected hits from the designer too, like a deep-indigo pencil skirt, ruched and gathered along the front for a more sculptural twist, that was inspired by the elaborate packaging often found in Japan. Her modified version of a kimono top, shortened and finished with broderie anglaise, was elegant in a stealthy way—as was her version of a leather jacket and knotted skirt, a tougher and edgier offering for Roja, who tends to lean more pretty. Not everybody will go to her for such pieces, but it was refreshing to see her branching out.
