GRACIOUS.ALIEN "O R A C L E" Pre-Fall 2025. Promo video.
(Image: All concepts, writing, names, style/fashion and facial characteristics: A.Glass 2024)
___
GRACIOUS.ALIEN "O R A C L E" Pre-Fall 2025
Full collection, and interview with creative director Dana Heliana.
After Dana's Heliana's collaboration Fall 2025 lookbook collection with the edgy outdoor brand Tulip, she has returned to Paris to showcase her 'Gracious.Alien' Pre-Fall styles, this time as a runway presentation. And we were able to catch up with Dana after the show.
First of all, welcome back to Paris Dana.
"Thank you! So good to be back and the weather, it's nice and warm for this time of the year."
Well, there is no doubt that your 2024 Pre-Fall collection was the highlight of this year's Fashion Week. You titled the collection as "Oracle", showcasing such a strong and defined array. Could you explain the background for your latest designs?
"I really appreciate the praise for my new collection. Thank you. My creative team and I worked very hard on these Pre-Fall styles, as we wanted to also experiment with looks that would be expanded to the complete Fall collection later in the year. So, I felt it was necessary to have a sample for that planned collection. As for the name Oracle, I went to Greece earlier this year, and spent some time in Delphi. I consider myself not a tourist, but a guest. I am, as you know of Romani background, and as a gypsy, we travel and consider all places as a home. While respecting the custodian. So, Greece and its history, even though I am not from there, more so Delphi is very sacred and special to me. Yes, there is a freedom to be borderless, but it comes with inherent and unnecessary prejudices. And I have learnt to understand this over the many years, but I chose to live in Delphi as one of the locals, drink and eat their food and explore the area with care. My grandmother, may her spirit be at peace, would show me these renditions of the priestess Oracle of Apollo who resided in Delphi, which loosely means 'womb' in English. She was a fortune teller, and in our Romani culture, the fortunes that are foretold, are to study events through conjuring the future, which is also a very important part of our culture. So, it is very relatable to me, and I love her story, maybe it is all myth, but I did go to the Corycian Cave, where the Oracle of Delphi used as her chamber. I wanted my latest collection to represent the intuitive feminine."
Did you breath the Oracle fumes?
"No! [laughing]. They, historians say, she was either breathing in vapor from hydrocarbon fumes from a chasm in the limestone cave floor, or tasting Mad Honey."
Mad Honey?
"[laughing again] Yes! Pollen and nectar from the Rhododendron flower. That is all I am saying [laughs]."
And bees were sacred in ancient Greece.
"That's right. Bees and honey were part of the ancient Greek prophetic process, and were considered to be part of the Thriae nymphs of Mount Parnassos."
With the latest collection, you mentioned in the show notes that the materials used for the collection comprises mostly of Rayon and Linen, with your continued use of 'mushroom' leathers. Could you elaborate on this further?
"Well, I love Rayon and I know that it maynot be the most environmentally friendly material, so we do source stockpiles of offcuts of Raylon to used on some of the pieces, linen is incredible durable and long lasting material. Derived from the Flax plant, it is by far the least impactful material for the environment. Leather is very harmful to the environment, from its toxic tanning process to the deforestation from breeding livestock. In takes so long to produce leather, and the resources involved are extraordinary wasteful. So, it's very destructive for the planet."
And finally, you did use AI for some of the set pieces. Could you please tell us what was the theme and what is your opinion of AI for the fashion industry.
"We used an AI hologram lighting program, that could change the background of the runway, while making it look like a real set. It is pretty amazing what it does, and I am no expert, but my set designer told me that AI will read the audience's reaction and sense any slight change in lighting, music and then it will set a different background. Although we did program the theme for the backgrounds, we allowed AI to do the rest. A kinda immersion into the Oracle presentation, without realising that you were contributing to the show..."
And without a sample of Mad Honey!
"...[Laughs], we were considering it! Also, you may have noticed the scent?"
I did, it was amazing.
"We had Nepalese Clary sage and Saffron extract used as a fragrance for the Oracle show, to assist in creating an uplifting, yet invigorating mood as a representation for the collection. We will be offering a limited selection of these 'Oracle' incense with the mentioned extracts. Now, back to the AI question. What do I think about it overall? Well, I don't see it taking over the planet, it needs a lot of discipline. It is very early days, it can't think for itself and needs to be guided all the way. Its impact on fashion will be minimal, but what I will say is that AI does get the fittings very correct, so it can assist as a guide, for the younger designer, in learning how to fit garments onto the models in a precise manner. But, overall, AI it is not good for the environment, as it uses massive amounts of energy to store all that data. It won't be a fixation for Gracious.Alien. When I was in Delphi, I turned off my phone and didn't even bring my laptop. I just wanted to be around nature and pay homage to its history of past and present. Losing track of time can be a wonderful thing, and that can only happen when we aren't always plugged into the machine, so to speak."
Agreed. Well thank you again Dana, we love the Gracious.Alien "Oracle" collection, and the show was just amazing. Beautiful, and such a unique presentation. We look forward for your new projects coming up later this year.
"So kind! Yes, I am already working on a new collaboration, which I can't disclose with whom at this point"
(Image: All concepts, writing, names, style/fashion and facial characteristics: A.Glass 2024)
___
(Image: All concepts, writing, names, style/fashion and facial characteristics: A.Glass 2024)
___
Complete "Oracle" Pre-Fall collection with images, bio and mini interview soon.
(Image: All concepts, writing, names, style/fashion and facial characteristics: A.Glass 2024)
___
TULIP x GRACIOUS.ALIEN FAll 2025
Dana Heliana's brand GRACIOUS.ALIEN has embarked on its 2nd collaboration, this time with the edgy coat and outdoor brand TULIP. We caught up with Heliana when she was in Paris and asked her a few question about her collaborative Fall 2025 collection with TULIP.
Firstly, welcome back to Paris. Weather is a little better this time! This is your second collaboration, the last one was with the streetwear brand KORGASM, how did the TULIP colab come about?
"I love Paris, even if the weather is a little bad. [laughs]. TULIP is John Gage's brand, and he designs some amazing outdoor wear. And as you know, I adore edgeness. The risque, and coats are like a shield, that covers the body. Protective. So he and I worked on creating something unique that had my and his imprint on it."
Photo shoot took place in your country of birth Romania, like the last collaborative collection with KORGASM. Was there any reason for this?
"Yes, I am very proud of my Romani roots, my family are gypsies and we have lived in Romania all our lives. But, it has not been easy, as you may know, Romanian society doesn't really care for the Romani's and I don't feel like it is necessary to talk about it here. But, what I will say, there are many problems in Europe at the moment. Right?..."
There sure is.
"...So I feel, that Fashion is an impression, like a statement, but it shouldn't be be too blatant. So, that fact that both KORGASM and TULIP have been so supportive to me and have both collections photographed in Romania, was an amazing thing to feel. Art, creativity, imagination and life in all of its combinations brings us together. The minority in power, always wants to break this apart. They worry about losing control. That is their fear, but, when people of all cultures and backgrounds, and lifestyles blend. It is so beautiful. I hope my collection with TULIP represents this, at least my version of it [laughs again]."
The location was a secret, but seems like such an interesting place.
"The last Cold War relics, dotted all about Romania and Bulgaria, former Soviet places, bunkers, all this concrete, so withstanding. Enduring. I find that fascinating, like in Romania there are these old German bunkers from World War Two, Eighty years ago, still there, buried in the Forests. Let's just say for the lookbook shoot there was Two locations, one in Southern Romania the other in Bulgaria. Secluded, with no tourists around!"
I see
"Like, I agree with the Spanish at the moment, so many tourists in Barcelona, using apartments to stay, pushing up rent and costs. But, secluded places that are special shouldn't be descended upon en masse. They are kinda, sacred. You gotta treat them with respect, for the spirits that once dwelled. Do you know what I mean?"
I do know what you mean. Has spirituality always been a theme in your collections.
"Absolutely. My grandmother was a Romani 'witch', she taught me sacred rites of releasing the trapped spirits, cleansing the space that may have suffering embedded in it. This was about removing the fear too. So, before the photoshoots we lit Acacia gum, and recited a Spirit chant to clarify that we will not disturb the restless ones, but set them free."
Well, we love your latest collection and collaboration with TULIP. You'll have a studio set up for the Fall 2025 collection this month in Paris during Fashion Week. Will there also be a runway show later in the year?
Thank you! Yes, the studio for the TULIP x GRACIOUS.ALIEN will be open for the Fall 2025 Fashion Week, later I hope to have a Spring collection ready for the next showing at Paris Fashion Week. Possibly a runway show. No decision just as yet.
___
(Image: All concepts, writing, names, style/fashion and facial characteristics: A.Glass 2024)
(Image: All concepts, names, style/fashion and facial characteristics: A.Glass 2024)
I have decided to continue with these posts in relation to the fictional brand GRACIOUS.ALIEN in a separate blog post, please refer to the original post with its prior updates.
The model's face is based off mine (yes, in all of its deaged glory), and her name is based off my character Essy Zabel. The brand GRACIOUS. ALIEN is owned by a fictional person (created by me) by the name of Dana Heliana, who is also the creative director. Her background and place of birth is Romania. The so called AI rendering program is vastly too random, and inconsistent in its image creation to say the least. So it has to be steered with countless prompts to achieve what I want. All the wording, background and history of the brand have been written by me. They don't exist in this reality, but may exist in a parallel world.
___
(A.Glass 2023, 2024)
Comments
Post a Comment