Set 65 floors up about the city streets, designer Alexandra O’Neill presented her first-ever runway show for her line, Markarian. If the name sounds familiar despite it being O’neil’s first show, it’s because the emerging designer stole headlines back in January for dressing First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for Inauguration Day. Since then, Markarian has been a label on top of everyone’s mind.
For her highly anticipated debut, the talented designer transported guests back to the early days of fashion presentations—the days when Coco Chanel would host previews of her seasonal collections in her rue de Cambon salon. But O’Neill knows her audience, giving us a taste of old Hollywood glam; the designer also kept things fresh and exciting in her designs.
Evening gowns featured cutouts that have undoubtedly been a top trend we’ve seen emerging on and off the runway, observe: Dua Lipa in these pelvic cutout pants. Formal skirts wore paired with lightweight knits that gave us downtown girl meets uptown heiress vibes. O’Neill also partnered with New York-based Gigi Burris Millinery, who equally infuses traditions of craft with modern needs on the headpiece for the show— definitely a standout moment of the show.
The show closed with models standing in a circular formation on the main floor that turned out to be a rotating turntable—which, after running around all week, I thought I was seeing things. However, I was validated by fellow showgoer’s equally shocked response.
After the show, GRAZIA caught up with the overjoyed designer as friends, family, and the team celebrated yet another spectacular success for the books.
Grazia: Congratulations on your first show! I can’t imagine how you are feeling right now, so tell me!
Alexandra O’Neill: Thank you so much, and so glad you were able to make it. I’m still shaking, my whole team cried, but I’m so happy at how it turned out. I cant wait to see the photos.
G: I can tell by the detailed display put on, but tell me a bit about your inspiration for the show.
AO: So, for this season, we really wanted to give our audience a feeling of what it would be like to step into the Markarian salon. So something that’s very intimate, very beautiful—a time when the norm was made to order.
G: Exactly the feeling I got when we walked into the room
AO: Yeah, we really wanted something that felt very old world and intimate but still modern.
G: How did you get into designing?
AO: My grandmother taught me how to sew when I was ten, actually. I’ve been making my own clothing ever since.
G: Super cute, and that’s your only background in designing?
AO: Yeah, I guess I was kind of self-taught or Gigi-taught (her nickname for her grandmother.) She was a seamstress; I actually come from a family of seamstresses, so it just seems natural.
G: I know you’ve been very active over the past year (a node to her fame Inauguration dress). How has the coronavirus pandemic affected everything coming together for your first show?
AO: We were really busy, but it presented its own challenges, like everyone else in every industry around the world. We just had to figure out how to work around it safely.
