Update: September 15, 2024
Alineo Studio is awarded with the Allianz EGO Confidence in Fashion Award at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid
Alineo Studio is a fashion brand that crosses borders and challenges conventional norms. Fashion Designer Lis Domínguez told us that although, at first glance, the brand’s name may seem a contraposition to her style, it is quite the opposite. The process of creation and development of the garments follows a very linear structure that contrasts with the final process. The collection is carefully designed using linear structures that separate the avant-garde organic styles that we give away.
Lis, what has inspired you to start Alineo Studio?
My connection to fashion helped me find myself and guide my path. Fashion is a means of expression, and I want to create my own. For that reason, Alineo Studio was born. It is a brand that escapes from trends and fast fashion, betting on genderless and including all body types. My designs are created from my experiences and my own transition, making them a small reflection of life itself with an avant-garde touch.
I started my journey making Instagram publications. Little by little, some stylists began to contact me to use my pieces in small editorials until I got to be on the cover of magazines, dressing influential people like Alicia Gutiérrez, Eduardo Casanova, Madam de Rosa, Maria Becerra, Nathy Peluso…
What is the main goal of Alineo Studio?
Create different fashion, never seen before. To create something material out of a feeling or a thought. Fashion is an essential vehicle to transmit emotions. I want to use my own code to create an identifying style that is recognizable at first sight. My garments are very elastic and adapt to all body types. They enhance the female figure, making you feel comfortable and confident. At Alineo Studio, we create garments for a strong and self-confident person. Someone looking for something different, for an event, for editorials… Situations that require unique clothes.
Alineo Studio works so well because we have a very clear target audience. We create a new product with a marine atmosphere, seducing our customers and making them want to belong to our community. What excites me most is seeing how good people feel when they try on an Alineo Studio. The garments can hide parts of their bodies that make them feel uncomfortable and focus the attention on other parts they want to highlight. The fabric and design help to create a marine atmosphere where these elongated silhouettes somehow hypnotize the viewer.
Lis, we were very impressed when we met this year at Madrid Fashion Week. How would you define your design philosophy and signature style?
I was born in Ibiza, and now I live in Mallorca. My life has always been very connected to the sea. I have always been very attracted to mermaids, which inspires all my collections. The hallmark of my brand is not only the sea but everything related to it. Above all, that feeling of needing to return to it when you move away. Alineo Studio’s style is feminine, without being pigeonholed in any gender role. An organic style in which symmetry is conspicuous by its absence.
I like the beauty of imperfection; in this way, I create something closer to reality. My silhouettes combine parts of large volumes that modify the body and sometimes accompany them with pleats and gathers. These designs are made from elastic fabrics such as lycra, which simulate a second skin that adapts perfectly to the body. The main objective to be achieved with these fabrics is to symbolize the change of skin as if it were left over and excess. The design unravels and melts on their own skin, following the movement of the person who wears them.
How do you stay true to your creative vision while adapting to evolving trends in this fast-paced fashion world?
What I like most about fashion is the versatility it offers. In fashion, everything is valid. We have the means to convey emotions and feelings. We can create identities. It is so common and broad that we can interpret it in a thousand different ways.
On the other hand, I don’t like its volatility. There is no time to value and assimilate design. We are overloaded with information, which can give us the feeling that we are missing many details. Most importantly, we should never give up what defines us, but we should adapt to our environment. You can’t always swim against the tide. That’s why I like to look around us and get inspiration from the people of the present so I can create something that the customer feels the need to have.
Your collection immediately caught our attention during Madrid Fashion Week. What inspired your latest collection, and can you share the story behind it?
“Mujeres del agua” (women from the water) is my latest collection. I presented it at the Clec Fashion Festival in Valencia, at the City of Arts and Sciences. A story that seeks to pay tribute to each of the women who have been present during my life. This extraordinary and intimate collection shows the respect and affection I have for each woman who has made me the woman I am.
Using hand-woven flowers combines modernity with our mother’s and grandmother’s manual techniques. Remember that in the Victorian era, flowers were used to send coded messages. Having said that, floral arrangements became a non-verbal communication mechanism to express those secret feelings that could not be transmitted in any other way. All the garments have typical lingerie finishes and a significant presence of bows that symbolize family unity. The use of lace and lycra represents intimate relationships.
What are your favorite materials or techniques to work with, and why do they resonate with you?
Most of my pieces are made with elastic fabrics, which generate movement and have the quality of being able to adapt to all body types. Reflecting the essential values of the Alineo Studio brand of inclusion and acceptance. The most commonly used technique is moulage. This technique involves adapting the fabric directly on the mannequin, without patterns, looking for a unique and asymmetrical silhouette, like each woman to whom the garments pay homage.
Another technique I have used in previous collections is hand dyeing. It adds a very personal touch to the garments. Each one has a unique pattern; none is the same, making it more special. Also, since I was a little girl, I have loved to paint, so I decided to make hand prints on my garments. Wetting the finished pieces, painting on the wet fabric, creating an asymmetrical print. Thus getting the person who buys them to feel that the garment is special, unique, and different.
Lis, what's the most challenging aspect of being a fashion designer, and how do you overcome it?
This world is a bit vertiginous because it is unstable, and you never know where you can end up tomorrow. There are good months. Others, not so much, as in any other emerging business. Initially, you must invest a lot and try your luck often. At the moment, I am calm because I have very clear objectives, and for me, that is the most important thing.
How do you find inspiration when faced with creative blocks or challenges?
My collections are based on personal concerns, so it is challenging to show my feelings or thoughts when it comes to translating them into garments. It is usually an easy task when I find the inspiration for my collections. When an idea comes to me, I put it down on paper through sketches. When I find myself lost, I look at silhouettes and shapes that catch my attention and transfer them to my designs. I like to look at the styles of some designers like Thierry Mugler, Ottolinger, or Pepa Salazar. Above all, Yuhan Wang inspires me. He is an emerging Chinese designer who uses draping and gathering to wrap the silhouette, reaffirming femininity from a classic and purist vision. Looking around can inspire you to create something of your own.
WHAT HAS BEEN the MOST SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT of Alineo Studio SO FAR?
Undoubtedly, it is the opportunity to dress people I always admired. Seeing them wear an Alineo Studio and then receiving good reviews has made me happiest, having two magazine covers in such a short time and so close together, one with Maria Becerra and another with Alicia Gutierrez. I was very impressed.
We hope Alineo Studio’s third cover and feature story bring Lis Domínguez more enthusiasm to continue excelling and bringing much more fashion into our lives.
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