HOW ‘ALICE’ FROM ‘ALICE IN WONDERLAND’ BECAME AN INTERNATIONAL FASHION ICON

Written by Team BBJun 03, 2015

She is 150 years old, a literary idol and now a fashion icon too – she is Alice from Wonderland. Legend has it that back in the July of 1862 Lewis Carroll randomly fancied a whimsical tale to entertain a little girl named Alice Liddle on a boat. A few years later he published this whimsical tale which went on to become the world’s most popular children’s book – Alice in Wonderland. This year as Alice turns 150 years young she has been declared a fashion icon. We intrigue…

Alice’s first stint at fashion was when Carroll himself sketched her for a manuscript in 1964. In these sketches Alice undergoes a series of costume changes thus flaunting Carroll's untamed artistry in the form of shifting necklines, altering sleeves, tucks and collars or not. Ever since her inception back then, Alice has evolved with each artistic interpretation.

Picture credit - www.brasky.org

Taking cues from the many adaptations of Alice over the years therefore, the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood has put together an exhibition – The Alice look. To mark Alice’s 150^th anniversary, the display follows her evolution from being a fashion follower to a trendsetter and finally her emerging as a fashion icon. The exhibit features a selection of garments, photographs, rare editions and a brand new commission by Serbian fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic’s pattern-cutter Josie Smith that include 3-D version of Alice's Wonderland outfit using fabric printed with text from the book.

Models and designers on the runway at the opening night of FIDM exhibit for Walt Disney Studios ‘Alice in Wonderland’ at LA's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising on May 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.

Picture credit - www.zimbio.com

To mark the 150 years of Alice, we take you through some of Alice’s fashion outings from over the years.

In the 1930s, hairbands came to be known as Alice bands. In 2003, American Vogue shot a Christmas photo essay, for which the likes of Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Paul Gaultier produced a new dress for Alice. Needless to say it had to be blue.

Picture credit - www.brasky.org

In 2013, high street brand Marks & Spencer, unveiled an opulent TV ad, featuring Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as Alice who is shown entering an urban rabbit hole. In 2010 the Versace Spring runway show was inspired by Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and so was the Dior Couture Show en Paris at the fashion week of 2010.

Picture credit - www.thedailytruffle.com

All of which translates to say that in its glorious 150 years Alice has turned into a canvas that has absorbed multiple artistic interpretations and yet the sanctity of Alice in Wonderland continues to remain untouched. More power to you Alice!

Picture credit- www.theepochtimes.com