ALEXACHUNG

When the livestreaming of Alexa Chung’s new clothing range filled up my iPhone screen, I thought I was watching the beginning of an old VHR tape of someone’s wedding or christening. The fashion show was held at a St Katharine Church, and Alexa, being the idiosyncratic person that she is, ensured that her show was a bit different from the norm. The resounding sound of an Angelic voice filled the church, and everyone hushed down as if Sunday morning mass was about to commence.

The little angel singing the beginning of a Beatles track disappeared, and suddenly a whole choir on a gallery behind the camera began singing the Beatles, and Alexa’s fashion forward friends and family were sitting of the edge of their pews, awaiting the musings of the famous It girl. Out rolled a line of quirky dressed girls in sixties inspired polo shirts, pink striped suits and mohair striped jumpers in a stylish queue of cool, lining up not for communion but to stand before the fashionable congregation in rows of stylish glory. The guests were then whisked away via monogrammed, millennial pink bicycle Tuk-tuks to a too cool for Sunday school after party.

If you have her book, It, dreamt of owning her namesake Mulberry bag or ever dangerously threatened your hair into a fringe with scissors, a collection by Miss Chung is everything her fangirls and boys needed to satisfy our dreams of becoming our ironic British It girl with an inclination to dress like a boy while emulating Jane Birkin. Every Alexa fan who either watched the fashion show online or waited for their ten minutes of perusing time on her website after her collection dropped was no doubt revelling in the shower of blessings that was her collection. You can imagine Alexa herself wearing every piece, and instead of it feeling as if you are following the crowd and adhering strictly to a new trend, it feels as though you are being dressed by your cool best friend.

Alexa insisted that the label is a mixture of pieces one would expect her to wear, i.e. dungarees, trench coats and loafers, as well as surprising pieces like her patent leather pinafore dress and the pink striped suit. What shocked me most about the collection was the price of it, the items are far more expensive than high street clothing, which Chung is a connoisseur of. However this surprise may stem from the fact that all previous clothing endorsements had been just that, endorsements and collaborations with other brands like Marks and Spencer and AG jeans. For the first time ever, Chung is presenting a collection that is completely her vision and with such authenticity comes a price tag.

Another thing which perplexed me about the collection is that a few of the pieces are the type of thing one can find at edgy high street shops like Topshop and H&M. Yet I realized that this is merely a case of the chicken and egg scenario, as Miss Chung has influenced high street brands with her sixties style so much, in the past and present, that the It girl is now only presenting it herself under her own name. So buckle up your baby doll shoes, grab your pick nick basket bag and straighten your peter pan collar and head over to Alexachung.com, because although you may not be able to walk in Alexa Chung’s shoes, you can buy them instead.

Check out Alexa's collection here: https://www.alexachung.com/row_gbp/