World-class review of ballet and dance.
Designed by Alice has been a go-to for dancers for whimsical ballet skirts, and luxurious handmade accessories such as silk scarves and scrunchies. DBA has just released a bodysuit in the signature Somefish design, a jewel-toned watercolour reminiscent of the sea. We caught up with Alice Williamson, the talent behind the label, to chat about the new line, running a business during the pandemic, and her creative projects.
Tene Ward in bodysuit by Designed by Alice. Photograph by Karolina Kuras
“The bodysuit has been five years in the making,” says the UK-based designer and dancer. Usually busy juggling an array of creative projects, lockdown gave Williamson a chance to revisit the bodysuit, a project which she started several years ago.
Inspired by the sea, the Somefish bodysuit is made from recycled plastic bottles, fished out of the oceans they pollute. “It's always been important to me that I avoid making ‘stuff’,” she says. The sustainable material offers two-way stretch as well as being resistant to chlorine, UV and oils so would-be mermaids can enjoy a day at the beach or working out in the studio.
Williamson, a classically trained dancer who performed for over a decade with dance companies in the UK, started DBA in 2010. Wanting to expand her creative horizons, the label began as an umbrella for her creative talents, including design and illustration. She quickly branched out into multi-disciplinary projects, residencies and commissions spanning dance, photography, film and design.
Her motto might be expect the unexpected: Williamson's projects include choreographing for robots at Harvard's ArtLab, choreographing, directing and designing costumes for “Skeleton Song” by critically acclaimed singer and composer Ana Silvera, making soft toys for JellyCat, and photographing for Vogue Italia with dancer Juliet Burnett.
Coming into her eleventh year of Designed by Alice, she says, it's become her “main thing,” no longer a side-hustle or creative outlet. “As a designer, I want to create pieces that collaborate with the human body,” she writes on her Instagram. Fans of the brand can look forward to an expanding presence in and beyond the dance studio.
Somefish bodysuits are currently available to pre-order on Designed by Alice.
“Uncommonly intelligent, substantial coverage.”
Your weekly source for world-class dance reviews, interviews, articles, and more.
Already a paid subscriber? Login
A ballet career necessitates lifelong scholarship. Professionals take a daily technique class that begins with the same pliés at the barre as absolute beginners. Most days at the School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet members are tucked into in a corner of the studio, honing their tendus alongside the top divisions.
Continue Reading
Jessica Lang is smack in the middle of a three-year stint as resident choreographer at Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet. It’s an excellent artistic match that deserves to be followed closely, because both Lang and PNB merit a higher national profile.
Continue Reading
The close-knit ballet scene in San Diego was dealt a blow when California Ballet, the company Maxine Mahon founded in 1968, folded in 2020. Insiders tell me the pandemic wasn’t entirely to blame, but since then, Golden State Ballet, still wet behind the ears, has risen in its place.
Continue Reading
Now in its fifth year, New York City’s Lincoln Center Summer for the City is going all out for dance. This year, the festival will inaugurate the much-anticipated Lincoln Center Contemporary Dance Festival in Alice Tully Hall, featuring five international companies, as well as a new outdoor contemporary dance series called Dance Encounters, presented outside on Hearst Plaza.
Continue Reading
comments