This Resort Brand Has Quietly Been On Every Season of The White Lotus
I never thought I'd want to dress like an overbearing Southern mom with a lorazepam addiction, but then there was Victoria Ratliff. On this past season of The White Lotus she wore an impressive collection of loose flowing dresses everyone couldn't stop talking about. She may not have had any idea what country they were in but she clearly knew how to pack for it. One dress she wore that I saw everyone talk about in particular was the Everly Pool Dress by Alémais. It was covered in colorful patchwork squares and so fabulous. Then I realized Kate's bright yellow cut-out floral dress from when she and her friends get caught in a water gun fight was also by the same brand. As was the lovely button-down top she wore at dinner the night before. The mini dress Jaclyn wears when she arrives to Thailand was also by Alémais. As it turns out, a lot of the items I saw most people inquiring about online where all by the new Australian brand, founded just four years ago in 2021.
I quickly became obsessed with Alémais because it really felt like the perfect vacation brand. Every item is a trip in itself with rich colors and patterns and textures that transport you to a different place. All its dresses, tops and pants have a loose movement to them that exude comfort and poise. If I saw someone wearing Alémais in real life on vacation I'd probably be equal parts envious and intimidated. Not because they look scary or like they might help initiate my demise à la White Lotus but because they look like the kind of vacation guest I aspire to be.
As so I went as far as Marrakech, Morocco to learn more about Alémais. The brand was hosting its Resort show in the city, in very typical White Lotus fashion (Morocco is also a rumored location for Season 5).
Alémais creative director and co-founder Lesleigh Jermanus told me the that the idea to have the show, the brand's first outside of Australia, occurred to her after connecting with her friend Laurence Leenaert, a multi-disciplinary artist and the founder of Marrakech-based design studio LRNCE. Jermanus had long been a fan of her work and ultimately bought a blanket from her husband, Ayoub Boualam, who had sent his wife in his place to meet with Jermanus. "What was meant to be a quick exchange turned into a very long, three hour dinner," she told me of the fateful meeting. "Eight years of conversation led us to that point." A collaboration together felt like the most natural next step.
At that point, it didn't feel right to celebrate the collaboration in Australia. "We felt like the inspiration was here in Morrocco. We wanted everyone to experience Laurence's world and immerse themselves in what this is. We didn't even think twice."
The influence of Marrakesh was more than evident in the Resort 2026 collection. Bold paneling on dresses was inspired by the tiled floors and walls that have come to define the city's architecture, and which also made up the runway. Some dresses featured a modern pannier with arches meant to mimic those of the doorways in Morocco, with colorful fringe falling like a jellyfish's tentacles.
Laurence provided more information on interior techniques typical of the local culture, which Jermanus translated into the clothing through cornelly embroidery and diamond patchworks. One particular dress even required seed beading, a new technique Alémais has never done before that required over 317 hours to complete.
When I asked Jermanus if she could define the Alémais customer, she said "We can't define her. I feel like there's a real spirit...a real energy to her. But the great thing is they can be thirteen or they can be eighty. It translates to a lot of different people."
"Like say, guests of The White Lotus?" I joke. To which Jermanus laughs and nods.
The designer proceeds to tell me that they could have never anticipated the amount of pieces that would end up on this past season of the television show. The costume designer, Alex Bovaird, had reached out and they just sent some options. "Four different looks was a pinch me moment!" she said.
Sitting at the show, at a tiled hotel in the center of Marrakesh, admiring tie-dye sun hats and tunics covered in silver tabs, also felt like a pinch me moment for myself and every other guest in attendance. As I took in all the rich colors, embroidery and texture of each look, I couldn't help but notice four that really spoke to me as potential Season 5 options...and also, potential summer vacation looks for anyone who wants to look like the most covetable vacationers out there.
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