Alice.
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
the original Alice, as illustrated by Sir John Tenniel
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
-an excerpt from Jabberwocky, Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass
I love, love, love Alice in Wonderland. It is my very favorite story ever. I even played Alice once (back in my theater days) and Oh. My. God. did I have fun. I was a brunette Alice, too. I’ve very proud of that!
Well, with the upcoming release of Tim Burton’s remake of Lewis Carrol’s masterpiece (3/5/2010, a very important date!), the world of fashion is fully embracing Alice and her Wonderland. Rumors are swirling about Alice designs to come, including the quintessential Alice dress reinvented by Alexander McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester, Christopher Kane, Haider Ackermann, Maison Martin Margiela, and others for the Printemps department store in Paris. Can’t WAIT!!! I searched all over for pictures, but it appears that none have yet been leaked. What can be found on the internet are images of a few of Tom Binns’ designs based on various Alice characters.
really digging on that Red Queen necklace
Binns’ pieces are broken into 2 collections: a fine jewelry collection with pieces ranging from $1000-$2000 and a collection for Disney with prices at a more attainable $100-$500. But seriously, $100-$500 for Disney jewelry???? I get that it’s Tom Binns, but something about it just doesn’t sound quite right to me. Although, I did see a big red heart necklace that reads “We’re all mad” that I’m hoping, hoping is part of the $100 Disney collection (I know, I’m a walking contradiction. I’ve learned to just accept it.)
Hollywood/Disney mega-power aside, I am very excited about Alice-inspired fashions. The fantasy, the outrageousness, the non-sensicalness, the whimsy… What a fantastic place to find inspiration! Zac Posen found some, as evidenced by his 2010 pre-fall collection that he calls “part Lewis Carroll and part Paloma Picasso.”
Just came across this in the Dec/Jan issue of Numero. Wonderland shot by Dusan Reljin…
And who can forget Natalia Vodianova as Alice, shot by Annie Leibovitz with a host of famous fashion designers appearing as Carroll’s imaginative characters??
Olivier Theyskens as Carroll…
Viktor & Rolf as my faves, Tweedledum and Tweedledee…
Marc Jacobs as the caterpillar. Perfect, because the caterpillar smokes. And it’s also funny to be reminded of Marc Jacobs back when he was scruffy and always had his hand bandaged…
and of course, the Karl…
There are so many places in Alice in Wonderland to find inspiration. I can’t wait to see what pops up next. And in anticipation of the movie, I’ll leave you with Mrs. Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, as the evil Red Queen.
images from Elle.com, Style.com, Numero Magazine and Vogue.com
