“I think my favorite Alice character is the March Hare. You can see I’ve made his watch rather prominent. This was a different design process for me, because I’m not usually so applicative—typically, I’m thinking about line, silhouette. But this time, I figured, why not just pile as much as I can on top?” —Nicholas Kirkwood
“I went to John Tenniel’s original illustration of Alice for inspiration. She’s seated at a table having tea, and her dress looks much more asymmetrical and theatrical than that boring Walt Disney version. It was also an auto-reference to my collections, as Lewis Carroll’s work has been one of the main inspirations of my label since its creation. Alice Liddell, the real little girl with long dark hair who inspired Carroll, is one of the very few icons that I have. The pictures of her are a constant inspiration for me.” —Charles Anastase
“I’ve always been intrigued by cutout silhouettes. They are so intriguing, so poetic—the shadow of a soul. They tell everything about a character and they are open to be filled with one’s own imagination.” —Ann Demeulemeester
“Alice’s silhouette is a blue upside-down dress with cage sleeve, as if she walked through the mirror and her dress completely reversed. A long ball gown has been reworked, upside-down, into a minidress. The bustier in taffetas becomes a pleated miniskirt. The petticoat in plonge becomes an asymmetrical draped top. The skirt in ‘plumetis’ tulle becomes a veil. A cage sleeve of whale-boned velvet ribbon is embroidered with pearls, crystals, and recycled jewels.” —Maison Martin Margiela
“My favorite character is the Duchess, who at first seems nearly as unpleasant as the Queen of Hearts. But she’s the antagonist of the queen, and at the end was only respectful and friendly, despite her tremendous ugliness. When I was designing this piece, I was seeing Alice running, escaping through the forest destroying her shiny dress.” —Haider Ackermann
“Running around careless and free in a romantic dress, falling down the rabbit hole, chasing time in a dreamlike state of mind, meeting unexpected characters with many tales to tell—sounds like many a girl’s night out!” —Chloé design team
Tom Binns joined a few other big names in the Printemps Alice in Wonderland Exhibition to celebrate director Tim Burton's take on a Disney classic. In the months leading up to the movie premiere Disney Couture asked designers such as Charles Anastase, Haider Ackerman, and Martin Margiella to create pieces that they felt personified a more modern Alice. Some chose to incorporate cliche symbols from the movie (i.e. key holes, tea cups, and pocket watches) with a gothic lolita backdrop, whereas other started from scratch completely. Anastase draped large quantities of white and navy fabric to create an androgynous bodice and then used playful tulle to lighten the mood. Another personal favourite was the upside down dress created my Margiella. He captured the plot of Alice in Wonderland without relying stereotypical Alice icons. The upside down skirt could be representative of Alice falling into the rabbit hole, the veil, her new warped perspective of the world, and the caged sleeves remind us that she is, in fact, trapped, despite her wondrous surroundings.
This is the sort of dress that grows on you gradually as you realize how the hell it's held together. The electric blue organza subtly emphasizes Mia Wassikowski's innocence and overall nakedness, as she ventures into Tim Burton's LSD trip of a Wonderland. If it were possible to bind up ice cold water and then wear it as a size extra large, I imagine this would be very similar to the resulting dress. 
Bonjour!I know my opinions on the Alice in Wonderland wardrobe are waay over due but I thought I'd share them anyway. The iconic blue frock that Alice donned in 1951 has been traded for a more modern electric blue. I can't say that I'm surprised (as we are talking about a Tim Burton film here) but I also can't say I'm disappointed. Alice's new wardrobe gave her a completely new dimension. Before, she was confined to the innocence of a little girl and the stubbornness of an old lady, but now she has genuine curiosity. Just imagine looking at one of those dresses through the eyes of a cat: That girl! Why, she's wearing my toys! All my strings and shredded curtains, they're all right there dangling off of her! How very curious. hm.
xoxo Valentine
