Main image: Photography Mara Sommer
The anticipation is already high for Rory William Docherty’s London Fashion Week debut this September and now the excitement has doubled with the announcement that Aleph Beauty is official make-up partner.
A pairing of visionary award-winning New Zealand brands committed to sustainability as well as design aesthetic, craft and innovation.
Think clean silhouettes and colour palettes, form and function, and an unwavering commitment to uncompromising quality and performance and style.
Aleph Beauty founder Emma Peters.
As a huge fan of both brands from day dot, this is a brand partnership that makes total sense on every level and will be a defining moment not only for fashion but also clean beauty.
And a double debut as the collab will also be Aleph’s first time backstage at London Fashion Week.
Aleph founder Emma Peters says she and the team can’t wait to touch down on British soil and help bring Docherty’s powerful vision to life. And when it comes to creative visions, Docherty sets the bar high.
Fashion designer Rory Docherty at home in his apartment. Photography Babiche Martens
His recent collaboration with the Royal New Zealand Ballet – creating the costumes for Chrysalis, one of three contemporary ballets for the Home, Land and Sea tour choreographed by Shaun James Kelly – was mesmerising for its sheer beauty, mastery and creativity. An iconic moment for dance and New Zealand fashion history.
The layers, translucency, beauty and style in motion. Individuality in every costume that tied beautifully into the whole, and set the backdrop as the sheer layers of Docherty’s ensembles were removed and peeled back to jewel tones as feather-weight organza garments were held to the light on hangers lifted aloft.
Home, Land & Sea triple bill, July 2025, by the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Photo credit: Stephen A’Court.
Think translucent trench coats, Prince of Wales check stitched into organza, appliqué hydrangeas and roses, and paintings on Lycra.
In the interval Docherty has been burning the midnight oil as he prepares for London Fashion Week, working on an installation for NZ Fashion Week and prepares to join the panel of Mindful Fashion’s ‘From Fast to Regenerative: Redefining Fashion in Aotearoa in an Age of Speed.
