Step aside, wallflowers – the Spring 2025 collection from alice + olivia by Stacey Bendet has blossomed in full, flamboyant force. With the grace of a climbing clematis and the audacity of a wild rose, the brand has planted its latest fashion fantasia smack in the heart of Singapore, at a newly unveiled pop-up in Raffles City Shopping Centre. Aptly christened Hotel Imagination, the boutique is no mere shop – it’s a floral dreamscape where fashion buds into fantasy and petals of personality bloom with abandon.
This isn’t just fashion – it’s floribunda couture.
Welcome to Hotel Imagination – Please Check Your Reality at the Door
As you step into the boutique, you get transported into what seemed like a whimsical English garden, where imagination climbs like ivy up every surface. It’s a world built on the foundation of self-expression – a recurring theme in Bendet’s work – where each piece is a dainty bloom or bold blossom in the ever-evolving meadow of the modern woman’s wardrobe.
“My mother once told me that I dream in dresses,” says Stacey Bendet, Creative Director and dreamweaver-in-chief. And oh, what glorious dreams they are – from sculptural jackets that feel like tailored topiary to drop-waist bodices that dance like daisies in the breeze.
Florals That Flatter, Not Fade
Of course, what would a spring collection be without florals? But rather than retreating into cliché, Bendet reimagines the perennial bloom with an artist’s eye and a botanist’s precision. Engineered vertical florals (think botanical sketches come to life) are designed to contour the body with an hourglass illusion, while laser-cut petals flutter across garments like cherry blossoms on a gentle breeze.
One of the standout species in this sartorial garden is the corset – traditionally rigid and restrictive, here it’s reborn in soft stretch knits. Like a perennial re-rooted in modern soil, the corset blossoms with comfort and power. Pair it with the much-raved-about Olivia pant, which Bendet proclaims is “the best and most flattering butt fit we have ever made,” and you’ve got an ensemble that’s as head-turning as a sunflower field in Tuscany.
The colour palette of the Spring 2025 collection is a bouquet of preppy primaries: think chambray blues as soft as a hydrangea, sunny banana yellows, and blushing dusty pinks. These are boldly accented with vivid reds and striking blues, like the unexpected pop of a scarlet poppy in a meadow.
Bouclé jackets, knit polos and printed ties add a crisp, garden-party feel, while broderie anglaise and lace – a tribute to Bendet’s own familial roots – bring a nostalgic delicacy to dresses that seem destined for moonlit walks through manicured rose gardens.
The lace motif doesn’t stop at the fabric – it weaves its way into beauty looks too, wrapped into romantic buns like dainty blossoms tucked behind the ear. Every detail, from hem to hair, is a petal in the composition of a woman’s fantasy made manifest.
When Night Falls on the Garden
Evening wear in this collection isn’t just luminous – it’s phosphorescent. Like moonflowers unfurling at dusk, gowns emerge in splendour with capes that sweep like lily petals in the wind. One scene-stealing creation is a gown adorned with hundreds of pink mirrored shards – a kaleidoscope of glamour, refracting light like morning dew across a magnolia bloom.
And yes, after a long hiatus, handbags return to the alice + olivia garden, blooming once more. These are no wallflowers either – a crystal-encrusted clutch shines like a gardenia in moonlight, while shimmering baguettes hand-embellished with beads and paillettes twinkle like frost on fresh petals. Released as limited edition drops throughout the season, they’re the floral sprigs that finish your fashion bouquet.
Where Art Meets Garden
At its core, alice + olivia’s Spring 2025 collection is a love letter to wearable art. It marries classic silhouettes with fresh functionality – wrinkle-resistant moiré fabrics, removable ruffle hems (hello, #SnapSkirt!) and versatile cuts that take you from champagne brunch to midnight bloom with effortless ease.
This collection doesn’t just invite women to dress up; it dares them to bloom. To unfurl their personality petal by petal, to flirt like foxgloves, to sway like sunflowers, to be thorny when necessary – and to do it all fabulously.
The Garden Gate Is Open
The new pop-up at Raffles City is open from 10am to 10pm daily, inviting curious fashion butterflies and seasoned style bees to flit through the dreamworld that is Hotel Imagination. It’s more than a store – it’s a hothouse of bold ideas, delicate details, and unapologetic femininity.
In a fashion world often trimmed into sterile minimalism, alice + olivia’s Spring 2025 offering is a glorious overgrown garden – untamed, poetic, and brimming with colour. A place where women are not only allowed to blossom, but are actively encouraged to grow wild.
The blooms are in, and they’re ready to be worn. For more on alice + olivia’s collection and limited-edition drops, visit aliceandolivia.com or stop by the pop-up at Raffles City Shopping Centre.
