Fashion’s new summer culture and the rise of Alémais
As the psychology of summer becomes increasingly bound to fantasy, fashion is embracing the season as a form of collective holiday escapism: a curated transformation of self and setting, as captured in the Resort 2027 show by Alémais in Menorca last week.
This week in Menorca, guests from the capital cities of the world gathered to take in the new resort collection by the Australian brand Alémais. On paper, it was a destination show much like the other cruise and resort showcases taking place around the globe at the moment, but with its holiday-centric nature, the rapid rise of the label – founded by Lesleigh Jermanus in 2020 – reflects a wider appetite for summer escapism taking place within the fashion industry and beyond.
Inspired by the highly graphic sculptures of the Mallorca-based artist Sophie Wahlquist, the collection captured the joyful, escapist spirit of Alémais, with all the hyper-sensory patterns and surface decoration it entails. Staged on Menorca’s adjacent islet of Illa del Rei – which houses a sprawling Hauser & Wirth gallery – the show easily demonstrated the acceleration of the young brand. But it was its surrounding atmosphere that truly spoke volumes about our ever-increasing participation in a new summer culture on steroids.
As personified by imagery that lives in all of our minds, the seduction of summer isn’t new. From a gingham-clad Brigitte Bardot in Saint-Tropez and Jackie O in a Capri trouser on the Amalfi coast, to Elizabeth Taylor in big jewels in Portofino and Talitha Getty in a kaftan in Marrakech, the summer fantasy is well-portrayed in our collective memory. But in 2026, fuelled by social media and the algorithm’s barrage of beaches and boats, an increasing hunger for fulfilling that fantasy has set in.
It was never better illustrated than in Menorca where, for two days, city-dwelling show-goers clad in Alémais’ effervescent summer-core played out their hottest holiday dreams before returning to real life once again. Dinners were staged under starry skies in remote fields and meadow-like gardens with rustic yet immaculate table settings and performances by local musicians. Immersive and transporting, the experience hit all the notes of the summer escapism we’re seemingly hankering for now more than ever.
The psychology isn’t rocket science: living in times we’re told are the most dangerous ever, the craving to escape it all amplifies. As summer sets in, bolstered by the seductions of the aforementioned algorithm, we create a kind of castle in the sky, with all the whimsical summer cosplay that comes with the territory. It explains the magnetism of a brand like Alémais, which has that culture down to a tee, and the successes of competing labels like Pucci, La Double J and Zimmerman.
At the end of the holiday – this perfectly curated summer state of mind – you realise that the transformation actually works. While playing summer dress-up doesn’t change the dire reality of the world, it offers a liminal state; a mindset removed from the ordinary social structure that allows us not only to change our surroundings but our identity and the real-world troubles it appreciates. As demonstrated in Menorca this week, Alémais and the new summer fashion culture it represents are instant escapism: just add a little Balearic seawater.
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