Alicia Stone

Fashion designer Alicia Stone has produced a brand new range of jersey dresses and tops for spring/summer 2012. As it was our pleasure recently to photograph them, I had a short chat with her about the ideas behind her range and behind the shoot.

"The clothes are designed for simplicity, edginess and quality", she enthused, "with the idea of openness to all. I wanted to create casual dresses and tops which could be worn either in the daytime, as a relaxed look, or in the evening, with a few accessories for a slightly more sophisticated feel." Such flexibility, it seems, has become necessary in the fashion world in recent years. "Given the economic situation, there is a tendency to buy fewer clothes at the moment, but of a higher quality - so my designs took this into consideration."

Simple, casual, edgy and sophisticated: our shoot was designed around these very ideas. Alicia suggested a casual, laid-back style, with neutral, clean, fresh make-up and effortless simple hair styling. She also selected her own model. "I looked around for a long time for a blonde model with a sophisticated look, and eventually settled on Frances, who was recommended by a friend. I also selected the shoes for the shoot myself, aiming to complement the colours and style of the garments."

With all the elements of the shoot in place, Alicia was happy to hand over responsibility to Mike Harrington. "I know next to nothing about posing models", she confessed, "so I left that side of things to Mike. He organised Frances' stances and poses excellently, showing off the draping and the shape of each dress." The poses were sometimes intimate, sometimes assertive, sometimes sophisticated, sometimes casual, but always very confident - complementing the ideas behind the garments perfectly. Alicia was delighted with the final photographs. We're very proud too. Have a look for yourself.



By Ryan Watts