Alessandra Rich has never been interested in dressing a blank canvas. Her clothes arrive already charged – with romance, sharpness, a little wicked humour (well, a lot of wicked humour, really!) – and her ongoing project Friends, Family, Lovers & Collaborators is about handing that charge back to the women who wear them. “The idea came from a desire to move away from constructed fashion narratives and focus on something more personal,” she explains. “I’ve always believed clothes carry emotion, memory, and intimacy, and this felt like a way to explore that without over‑directing it.”

Photography is the natural language of the series because of its closeness to real life. This second chapter, centred on Women in Art across the UK and US, invites female artists to interpret the Spring Summer 2026 collection with the people they are closest to. “Photography felt like the right medium because of its immediacy and honesty, especially when the people involved already know each other,” Alessandra says. “When someone photographs a friend, partner, or collaborator, there’s a level of trust and understanding that changes the image entirely… you get moments that feel unguarded and real, and that sense of intimacy felt essential to the project.”

Crucially, she lets each pair lead. “I wanted the clothes to live inside their worlds rather than imposing a narrative onto them,” she says. “The collection has a strong point of view, but it’s designed to be worn, inhabited, and interpreted.” Once the women have authorship over the image, “the clothes take on a different energy… They stop being styled objects and start becoming part of a personal story.”

That ethos mirrors the women who gravitate towards Alessandra Rich – a spectrum that famously stretches from the Princess of Wales to Beyoncé. “It’s less about who they are publicly and more about how they carry themselves,” she reflects. “They’re women who are comfortable with contrast – with being strong and feminine, romantic and powerful at the same time… The clothes aren’t about fitting into one version of womanhood. They’re about embracing individuality and confidence, wherever that sits.”

See the full portfolio of women and collaborations at the alessandrarich.com website now