\n<\/p>\n
Resort season is in full swing, and over the past few weeks, blue-chip brands have been staging multi-day extravaganzas across all the globe. So it feels like an unexpected decision for Al\u00e9mais\u2014the Australian brand founded by Zimmermann alum Lesleigh Jermanus, known for its kaleidoscopic, prints-on-prints-on-prints designs that have become a runaway hit since the brand\u2019s launch in 2020, and which now counts over 600 stockists\u2014to get in on the action. But why shouldn\u2019t a brand arguably best known for its resortwear (Jermanus\u2019s bohemian maxi dresses and richly embellished sets were all over the last season of The White Lotus<\/em>) stage a show in an exotic locale, too?<\/p>\n So it was that on Wednesday, a roving army of editors, models, and tastemakers\u2014around 80 in total\u2014were whisked from the Menorcan capital of Mah\u00f3n to the breathtakingly beautiful Illa del Rei, some 15 minutes away via ferry. A decommissioned naval hospital island now under the stewardship of art world behemoth Hauser & Wirth, the grand outdoor courtyard served as the backdrop to a riotous parade of looks that paid artful homage to Mallorca. These included woven separates that sparkled like the sun hitting the water, fluidly draped dresses in shades of buttercup yellow and seafoam blue that echoed the Mediterranean wildflowers across the island, and seashell trinkets and embellished fishing lures woven through the eyelets of dresses and the braids of models\u2019 hair. \u201cIt\u2019s quite crazy,\u201d said Jermanus after the show. \u201cWe\u2019ve just taken our whole team from Australia on a 35-hour journey with three stops to this island, which we couldn\u2019t have done without the locals opening it up to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Though, in fact, this isn\u2019t the first time Jermanus has headed to a far-flung destination for a resort show: last year, she popped up in Marrakech with a show staged in the zellige-tiled courtyard of a culinary museum, and used the show as an opportunity to collaborate with a handful of local artisans. (Along with her magpie\u2019s eye for prismatic color and pattern, Jermanus is known for her artist collabs\u2014in this instance, she teamed up with the Mallorca-based artist Sophie Wahlquist, drawing particular inspiration from her work in ceramic\u2014and her commitment to using low-impact textiles, with the vast majority of her designs being cut from organic linens and cottons, or FSC-certified man-made fibers.) It all comes at a surprisingly fair price point, which has helped fuel her business\u2019s wholesale boom over the past few years.<\/p>\n As for why<\/em> Jermanus has decided to stage these increasingly ambitious international shows, and travels halfway around the world to do so? \u201cI feel like it\u2019s true to who I am as a person and the spirit of the brand\u2014celebrating the spirit of adventure, making clothes that feel transportive,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an evolution, I guess, of what resort means, and that it feels like more of a state of mind. It doesn\u2019t matter where you are\u2014it\u2019s that feeling.\u201d There\u2019s also something distinctly Australian about it, I suggest; it\u2019s little wonder, given its geographical isolation, that Aussies are such intrepid travelers. \u201cWhen it comes to travel, we\u2019ve got grit,\u201d she added, with a laugh.<\/p>\n There was also a pleasing grit within the collection. While it featured plenty of nods to both the flora and fauna (and folklore) of Menorca and various traditions of local craft\u2014plus a broader spirit of honoring Menorca\u2019s colloquial nickname as the \u201cmother island\u201d of the Balearics, named as such for its supposedly powerful feminine energy\u2014Jermanus deftly swerved anything too<\/em> literal, folding those island references into a design vernacular that still felt very Al\u00e9mais. Just take the lightly psychedelic knits inspired by local weaving techniques, recreated at her ateliers in India, and their contrasting shades lifted from the \u201cwild combinations of color\u201d she spotted while wandering through the island\u2019s fishing wharves. Or the sculptural tops and minidresses lavished with intricate beading that shimmered like the tiny barnacles on a treasure pulled up from the deep. Or the crinkled fabrics that had been treated with salt-dye and UV exposure techniques, as if they\u2019d been drenched in the sea then left out in the sun to be weathered by the elements. \u201cIt feels a bit like method acting,\u201d Jermanus said of absorbing the island\u2019s aesthetic while steering away from pastiche. \u201cBut most importantly, it had to feel authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n In keeping with that resort attitude, the fashion show was sandwiched between a handful of activities that showcased the spirit of the island: swimming at a beach club in a picturesque cove on the island\u2019s northern coast, a visit to the monumental Lithica quarry, and dinner at a farmstead down the end of a dusty track, with open-fire grilled seafood prepared by local chef Gabriel Del Hum\u014d. After the show, guests gathered at the island\u2019s Cantina restaurant for a Menorcan feast, followed by a spellbinding performance by the local avant-folk musician Anna Ferrer. Helpfully, the weather was balmy across the entire two days, which neatly echoed Jermanus\u2019s first experiences of the island. Back in January, while on a design research trip to Barcelona and the Balearics, she recalls it raining the entire time\u2014until, that is, they landed in Menorca. \u201cWe got here, and the skies opened up, and I just had this gut feeling,\u201d she recalled. There was a similar sense of magic during the runway show, as the scent of lavender and rosemary carried on the breeze and the setting sun cast a honey-colored light across the Balearic stone of the 18th-century former hospital. It will be exciting to see where Jermanus\u2019s wanderlust takes her next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n