The Pandora Dress

Finally the seventh dress, the Pandora. This little pop rocket of a dress is my personal favourite for its electric personality and illicit thoughts that filled my head whilst designing her.

A single scenario repeated in my imagination for which this dress would be worn .........................

It's a cold, crisp, dark night in New York city and Pandora is entering the premier of her latest film. The flash bulbs are cracking all over the red carpet, paps are shouting her name 'Hey Pandora, look over here for me!', fans are squealing with desperate joy flapping their autograph books and Pandora's porcelain face glows as her eyes sparkle in the light. 

The most famous starlet of our time is bundled into the theatre where she takes a deep breath and flicks her brunette hair back into perfected place. 

The gentleman on her right takes her over sized platinum coat and checks it in, the one on her left goes to announce her anticipated arrival. For just a moment Pandora stands alone in the foyer awaiting the overwhelming fuss that will be made of her in just two minutes time.

A tap on the shoulder startles her, 'he's waiting in the alley' a tall figure whispers closely. 

Her heart pounding and butterflies whirling everywhere Pandora turns on her sparkling heel and move swiftly towards the fire exit. Busting the door open the cold air freshly hits her skin as steam billows from the subway grates. The single light coming from the doorway catches the sequins of her dress shimmering as she opens the heavy black door of the car. In a split second she is free, gone. Leaving just a sheer glimpse of an image.

The Pandora is a coquette of a dress. The sweetheart of the neckline that molds over the smooth bust, the wrapping of the silk chiffon tightly around the waist and the dense sequins that shimmer over the bodice as it moves. The plunging back of the dress reveals all, with long drapes hemmed in indulgent marabou feathers fit for the finest courtesan.
Cut in an hourglass highlighting the curves and falling to the calf I wanted this dress to be both as sexual and ladylike as possible.

For more info on the Pandora in the boutique please click on the photos.

The Hera Dress

Adorned in beads, the birds and the bees crawl over the bodice of the Hera dress in golds and silvers as the symbols of love and nature. The ladybirds glisten in crystal amongst gilded bugle hearts adding detail at every angle to produce an exquisite opulence to the bodice design. Reminders of the bead work delicately trim the hem of the peplums as the matte silk skirt falls to the ground contrasting against the decadence.

This dress was designed as a beautiful statement piece, a labour of love that carries a certain demure elegance without showiness.
The bare beauty of the skin next to the highly polished decoration works as the right balance when wearing this dress. We styled it for the shoot with up-most simplicity, soft hair swept up with nothing to distract from the face, the eyes or the dress.

A one of a kind piece this dress took over a month to embellish with the tiny seed beads that make up the pattern. Produced at the Somerset studio in the UK with silks sourced locally in Gloucestershire.

For more information on the Hera dress please visit the online boutique here. 

The Venus Dress

The Venus Dress is a fantasy of goddesses and couturiers draped into a gown.

The main influences are the 1940's screen goddess Ava Gardener in 'One Touch Of Venus' combined with the sculptural work of Madame Gres and the iconic stars of the art deco period that were inspired by Halley's comet.

The stars for this design were used in five pointed deco form in silver and whites to produce a heavily beaded stomacher that accentuates the waist creating a central focus. In opaque white seed beads, Swarovski crystals and bugle beads, the stars that are also featured on the shoulders and buttons adding an opulent weight to the dress.  Over ten meters make up the skirt that falls heavily in the softest jersey to the floor and produces the most incredible lines (the picture above demonstrates this).

As the hand crafted sculptural process used to drape the dress became something of a labour of love, it was soon apparent that this dress would be a beautiful one off.

Have a closer look at the dress with more details of purchasing this one of a kind piece here. 

Aphrodite Dress

GODDESS, QUEEN,A FEMME FATALE OF ELEGANCE. 

A study of simplicity and silhouette in ivory crepe jersey 

trimmed with silver hand beaded belts in a elegant draped hourglass 

deco design. The bodice smooths over the bust to the draped 

skirt that follows the figure beautifully. At the back a small train 

lengthens the line up to the open backed bodice with just the 

fine bead work for detail at the base of the spine.

Available exclusively online. 

The Fortuna Dress

The Fortuna dress is patterned in fine embroidered lace and trimmed with covered buttons all along the spine that plunges towards the softer tulle hem. Hand appliqued lace blooms encrusted with blush Swarovski gems add dimension over the bodice and continues in hiding throughout the tulle skirt. Finished with a glass bugle bead and Swarovski crystal belt.

This dress was designed for the stage and screen. A gown surrounded by singing gentlemen, revolving on pedestals and dancing the quickstep. 

Available online here. 

The Freya Dress

The Freya dress is for the Follies girl dancing through the night with curls in her hair and feathers fluffing everywhere.

The key detail in the Freya dress is the huge plume of Ostrich feathers that weigh down the hem and tickle the sequins hidden underneath. Ostrich never fails to insight the imagination and in the making of this dress were delicately dipped in tea and blow-dried to get the right tone. The feathers tended to look a little too new and unnatural when they first arrived so needed calming.

On designing, this needed to be a dress that really moved. Tiny pearlescent seed beads were used to tassel each Swarovski crystal that patterns the dress to catch the light with every step.
The same beads trim the neckline and cuffs of the silk Georgette with fine feather motifs that were carefully beaded by hand here at the studio. Underneath a silk slip is sequined over the hem and bodice which adds another secret dimension to the sheer dress above.

The dresses all have a character to play and the Freya dress is all caught up in fantasies of the Ziegfeld Follies, Boardwalk Empire Molls and the original fearless flappers. It's cute with the fluff and prettiness but it also packs a hell of a sexy punch when worn.

Available exclusively online here. 

Divine Creatures 2014 Collection

Aphrodite

Fortuna

Freya

Hera

Juno

Pandora

Venus

Divine Creatures Collection

Here is the collection we have been passionately working away on over the past few months. Our very own goddess Nicole captured the mood of each dress beautifully during the shoot which took place at our dress cabin.  

Here's what it's all about............. 

Seven exquisite exhibition gowns make up the latest 2014 collection from Alexandra King, each piece an individual idea crossing the lines of fashion and art. Heavenly beaded stars encrust the cinched waist of a goddess gown, there is a 'birds and the bees' gown a literal symbol and labour of love whilst big blushing feather plumes flirt with hems on dresses fit only for the most vampish of starlets.

Colours are the classics in ivory, marbles and whites with precious metal embellishments in golds, coppers silvers and pearls.

The collection was designed for that dream goddess or starlet character that fills our secret imaginary fantasies. Be it Marylin backstage with Bobby and Jack, a divine icon on the silver screen or simply sat upon a pedestal, a beauty amongst the gods swathed in one of these gowns. It's pure indulgent fantasy.

• The gowns are available exclusively online direct from Alexandra-King.com
• Prices from £1,200
• The Juno and Fortuna dresses are available made to order
• contact alexandra@alexandra-king.com for more details

Collection 2014 - The Sketches

Freya

Each of the final designs you see, all beaded and beautiful starts with a sketch. In fact a number of sketches and bits of paper, backs of envelopes, midnight scrawls, digital scribblings of all the details that make up a single dress. As Paul Smith says, 'you can find inspiration in everything' and in my case everywhere.
Once these many sketches are brought together to form a single garment or accessory the magic really begins with the fabrics. Beads and colours are selected whilst patterns are cut and the sewing begins in a fury to see what the finished dress will look like.

These are the final sketches and a preview of the Divine Creatures collection, 2014.  A set of seven pieces that will ignite the imagination and soon leap off the page into reality.

Pandora

Juno

Fortuna

Aphrodite

Hera

Venus