ALIX OF BOHEMIA treats clothing like a portable archive, full of fruit, florals, stripes and references that look collected rather than generated. Founder Alix Verley Pietrafesa began making garments while studying art history in Scotland, then built the label around hand-finished textiles and a life spent moving between places. The dresses reward a little confidence, especially when you let the print stay as loud as it is.

The separates make the craft easier to wear day to day. Alix learned by making more than 2,500 bespoke one-of-a-kind pieces, and the current shirts, knits, jackets and trousers retain that hand-focused feeling through natural fibres, appliqué and unusual pattern. Pair one expressive piece with something plain, then let the texture do the storytelling.

Our honest take: ALIX OF BOHEMIA is for a dresser who sees getting dressed as part of a larger life, not a problem to solve with neutrals. The collection can look busy if every print competes, but that is a styling issue rather than a reason to flatten it. If you take one thing away, make it this: choose one piece with a story and give it enough quiet around it to be heard.