Alessandra Rich’s world is waxing and waning with each passing season, just like the moon. Where last spring the theme was community, for the winter that’s coming the designer looked inwards, and towards the boudoir.
This time around, for spring 2027, that boudoir exploded and took over the entirety of the Mayfair apartment in which Rich has been presenting her collections for the past year.
The circular bed from last season’s seedy motel was now covered in pink fur, and set on a rug of the same make; the collection’s title, by the way, was Pink Fury. Surrounding it were pieces by female artists who are also the designer’s friends: homeware designer Anissa Kermiche, Marfa Journal founder Alexandra Gordienko, photographers Polina Antipova and Guen Fiore, potter Alma Berrow, and painters Veronica Smirnoff and Polina Osipova.
In a way this was about the personal becoming communal, and turning back into something personal. “I felt the need to bring my community together in a space where we could share objects that are important to each of us. I think it is important to be surrounded by things that you feel close to,” said the designer, before explaining that her team’s design process usually begins with an object that she feels creates a mood. This season was based on a few vintage pieces in silk Georgette she found while treasure hunting—though a few times in the past, she laughed, it’s just been a pair of tights.
The silk Georgette starting point was to be found on one of this collection’s standout pieces, turned into a floral print on a red mini dress, with an off the shoulder neckline and a giant bow in the back. But because this is Alessandra Rich, and she loves the dress-up game, there were over 100 more pieces in this collection for buyers to go through.
These included but were not limited to: an array of black, white and pink bouclé skirt suits that carry embroidered micro sequins and bandera embroidery (in mini, midi and maxi lengths), a black velvet revenge dress with a lace neckline, a poplin tea dress that looked like a nurse’s uniform and a silk cocktail dress with a simple sweetheart neckline in the most striking turquoise.
It was a lot, but as the designer confessed, one of her favorite parts of designing is the very beginning. It works in practice too; after a couple of seasons showing twice per year, Rich is back to the full fledged four-collections-a-year calendar. She said it’s to keep things “fresh” but it may just be that she loves the work.
