For the resort season, Markarian designer Alexandra O’Neill debuted a focused lineup of specialty occasionwear, held at the Salon on 9 at Saks Fifth Avenue (where — on the terrace of L’Avenue — the designer also hosted an intimate dinner celebrating the collection).
Referencing her debut runway shows in September and February, O’Neill noted, “It’s been a game-changer for us; I feel doing a runway show builds momentum and legitimizes you as a luxury company. We’re coming up with our September concept now.”
Within resort, the designer offered a mixture of holiday-centric and tropical, vacation-minded ideas, which looked great on her hyper-feminine silhouettes.
The look: Festive, girly glam.
Quote of note: “I wanted to do a collection for resort that would be just as appropriate for a tropical, beachy vacation as it would for a wintery celebration,” O’Neill explained.
Key pieces: A macrame minidress (and miniskirt) with subtle sunset ombre palette and beaded trims; red and pink wave or colorful geometric floral printed dresses; a dazzling “disco ball” pink cocktail shaker with allover mirrored heart, circle square and rectangle decorations; little black holiday dresses (in velvet with Swarovski crystal details and cape-like ruffled sleeves, or with allover sun and star beam hand-embroidered gold beads); novelty boleros; a relaxed virgin wool suit.
The takeaway: The collection was tight and concise, but with ample playful-meets-glam personality.
