Autumn Adeigbo Resort 2023
Fresh off a new round of funding, with Hollywood celebs Mila Kunis, Cameron Diaz and Gabrielle Union as the latest investors, Los Angeles designer Autumn Adeigbo has rolled out her first resort collection.
“Our bestselling dresses by a landslide from last fall were holiday — the velvet, the red roses, the more dramatic kind of evening dresses.…And it seems like with the recession, what women will still invest in is evening,” Adeigbo said of the October delivery.
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Not only did she bring back her saucy floral velvet, sweetheart neckline and thigh-high slit dresses, she elevated them — and showed red-carpet-ready gowns — with sequins, sheer organza waist corseting, double-bow shoulder details and feather trim that would deck any hall.
Adeigbo, it should be said, was early on to the midriff-baring trend, and waist and side cutouts continued to be a signature on daytime red floral dresses, a metallic spaghetti strap jumpsuit and a baby pink crushed velvet cocktail stunner with a satin heart bodice.
“I actually had a hashtag back in 2016 that was #croptoplife,” she laughed. “I’m an older woman and I just can’t shake ’em.” (Over 35 is all she’d say.) “But I also like to talk to the Boomer customer who wants sleeves and a longer dress and doesn’t want cutouts.”
Playful prints and lush brocades are also hallmarks, seen on an Empire gown with hand-beaded bust and shoulders that seemed to channel “Bridgerton,” but Adeigbo also worked in solid velvets and metallic sequins, offering more variety.
Continuing with her accessories push, she introduced bow headbands and scrunchies, alongside her crushed velvet long gloves and bestselling haute clogs.
Star intarsia knits were meant to reference a tree-topper, she said, but could just as well be a nod to the constellation of women supporting her business.
“It speaks to the product because these are women who have access to the best things in the world,” she said of her fan club.
It also speaks to the relatively new Hollywood culture of investing in new talent and start-ups.
“When I came to Hollywood in 2020, Serena [Williams] and Ashton [Kutcher] already had funds, Guy [Ritchie] already had a fund, and Gwyneth [Paltrow] was already investing, so that’s the only culture I know,” said Adeigbo. “But I’m sure that has something to do with it and I’m sure it has to do with me being a woman of color as well.”
In the next year, Adeigbo is working on sharpening her price point, and ramping up production to get merchandise to consumers faster.
Only then will New York Fashion Week be in the cards.
“We’ve been invited a few times and I turned it down because believe it or not, that’s not the thing that’s the most exciting thing to me,” she said. “I know for a lot of designers the show is it, but what’s exciting to me is figuring out the business of it.”
Launch Gallery: Autumn Adeigbo Resort 2023
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