Jason Rembert Launches Accessible Aliette Resort Collection, E-commerce Site
Who couldn’t use a little escapism right about now?
That’s what stylist and designer Jason Rembert is banking on with his Aliette resort collection that has launched along with his first e-commerce. The playful capsule of hand-painted, color-soaked floral T-shirts; sweat suits; silk rompers; tie-front cotton dresses, marble-print pajamas, robes and eye masks is inspired by vacation dreams of the Caribbean island of Martinique, and selling in more inclusive sizes, and at more accessible prices ($100 to $850) than his main line.
“My family is from Martinique, and my late mother used to tell me about traveling there as a kid. It feels majestic and magical,” Rembert said of the tropical destination that inspired the lounge lifestyle collection, a departure from his luxury priced main line of Hollywood diva fare worn by Issa Rae, Ciara, Cardi B, Regina King and many more for press events and red-carpet appearances.
Like most everyone, Rembert said the pandemic has given him time and space to think about the big questions, like who he is as a designer, what his product says to the world and how it is reflective of the women who inspire him. “The third one was tricky,” he said, listing his mother, sister and aunt as the strong females who raised him. “If they saved up a year of their salaries, they still couldn’t afford one of my dresses,” he said of the reality check that led him to pivot to more affordable prices.
Rembert hopes the capsule will spark joy — and future destination-themed product drops offering a little respite from quarantine fatigue.
“I’m grateful to live on the outskirts of the city, but when I lived in New York, I lived in the smallest of the small apartments. So I can only imagine people who are confined to their four walls, who don’t have a backyard or front lawn.…To not have that, but to have an escape they can get from packaging to clothing to visuals, it makes a difference, even if it’s only for 15 minutes.”
But he’s not on any kind of schedule for capsules or his main line, which sells at Moda Operandi and Sauvage. Of breaking free of the fashion cycle, he said, “I’m not just going to put out product to put out.”
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