Alejandra Alonso Rojas Introduces a Bridal Line Inspired by Her Grandmother
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Since launching her eponymous ready-to-wear line in 2016, Alejandra Alonso Rojas has garnered a cult following among cool New York women with a certain je ne sais quoi ease, who stock their wardrobes each season with the designer’s signature bias-cut dresses and plush knit sweaters.
Now, should any of them have wedding plans in the near future, they’re in luck. After years of creating bespoke pieces on request, Rojas is officially launching a line dedicated to brides. And though this venture is new for her, its inspiration isn’t: It all goes back two generations, to her grandmother Carmen and the story of how she created her own wedding dress.
“My grandmother was modern for her time. She was simple and had this easy elegance to her,” Rojas tells T&C. “She studied philosophy and literature in college, and later worked in advertising and radio. She was passionate about her career. She even got arrested in Madrid because she wore a swimsuit to the beach during the dictatorship.”
As if going against Franco weren’t enough, she almost defied the Catholic Church on her wedding day. Carmen wasn’t fussy, but she did have a few quirks, especially when it came to her style. And she had a notable collection of Balenciaga dresses. There was one, a black lace sleeveless number with bows on the hem, that Carmen was particularly fond of, so she asked Cristóbal Balenciaga to have it made in white for her walk down the aisle. But simply changing the dress’s hue to a more virginal shade wouldn’t be enough to make it adhere to Catholic requirements. Balenciaga had to transform the original neckline (which was basically a bustier, according to Rojas) into a demure boatneck—and add sleeves, naturally.
The origin story of that dress, which Rojas’s mother also wore on her wedding day, is now firmly established in the family lore. It was only fitting, then, that the dress would also serve as the starting point for Rojas’s bridal collection. Taking cues from Carmen’s vision, she has made personalization her MO. There is a real fluidity between what can constitute “bridal” versus what is ready-to-wear. Take, for instance, an ecru dress embroidered with crochet flowers. It should look familiar to dedicated Rojas clients: A turquoise version was in her spring 2023 collection.
silk satin slip dress with crochet insert
alejandraalonsorojas.com
$1995.00
Alejandra Alonso Rojas“The bridal dresses in this collection are essentially my best-selling dresses from ready-to-wear,” Rojas says. “When brides would come to me and ask for wedding gowns, and I’d offer to start sketching, they would tell me that they want a dress that I’ve already made, but in white.” Cue the long silk champagne gowns with trains that cascade down from a bow on one sleeve; the playful white dresses with black bows sewn on the back; the lacy suit jackets and matching trousers; the crochet skirts and delicate slips woven with pearls.
In a wink to Carmen’s renegade spirit, Rojas has also included a few bolder pieces that would have made Grandma proud: silk gowns in ombré pastels, chunky cream sweaters, halter dresses laden with shimmering sequins, and, of course, several black options. “Look, why should my main and bridal lines be very different? I put the same love that I put into any dress in the show in any dress for a bride,” she says.
Plus, it’s what her chill clients expect. “This line is for the effortlessly chic woman who doesn’t want six fittings. She doesn’t want the fuss,” she says. “She wants something elegant but not something complicated—because it doesn’t relate to her.”
This story appears in the April 2024 issue of Town & Country.
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