Allina Liu FW25: A Love Child Between Couture and Seduction
Each piece embodies both comfort and sensuality while balancing wearability and a high-fashion appeal.
Image Courtesy of Allina Liu and Lindsey Media
On a cold Saturday morning in New York, inside the Standard in the East Village, guests sip warm cups of coffee as they browse racks showcasing Allina Lius’s new Fall 2025 collection.
Liu’s latest collection is a delicate balance of romance and edge, featuring carefully placed bows, bold cutouts, lace-up details, bubble skirts, ruffles, and collars. Soft baby pinks and gingham prints bring a sense of sweetness and innocence, while the collection’s sultry, feminine silhouettes and lace-up accents hint at a darker, more provocative undertone upon closer inspection. Each piece embodies both comfort and sensuality while balancing wearability and a high-fashion appeal.
As I move through the racks of garments perfectly organized by color, a few designs stand out that perfectly capture Liu’s vision of juxtaposing soft and romantic with provocative and sultry. The Cuts Dress, a floor-length green satin gown, features delicate ties around the neck, seductive cutouts along the chest, and two long bows with strings descending down the dress’s front.
Nearby, a model stands in what quickly becomes my favorite look from the presentation—the Cat Dress paired with the Arwen Coat. The Cat Dress is a black satin maxi dress with cutouts wrapped around the waist, adorned with ruffles that accentuate the sexy silhouette. The sheer, long, and billowy Arwen Coat, tied delicately at the neck, adds the perfect touch, bringing a feeling of romance and fantasy to the look.
After my initial walk through the collection, and in between my next cup of coffee, I had the opportunity to sit down with Liu and discuss her creative process, the intricate stories behind her designs, and the inspirations that shaped this season’s collection.
What does showing your collection at New York Fashion Week mean to you as a designer?
It means childhood dreams are realized. Even though we're doing a very cute little press appointment this season, last season was our first official calendar season, and no one even told me we were on it! I found out the day of because someone tagged me in it, and I was like, ‘Holy shit!’ I’ve been making clothes since I was a kid, so it’s a big thing.
What would you say are your design's signature elements that make a collection distinctly yours?
I’d say a lot of straps. My work is actually really sexually charged. It’s really based on Nobuyoshi Araki, the photographer, BDSM, and the subculture of that. It all looks really sweet, though, and I like that subversive aspect of it.
What story are you seeking to tell with this collection?
This season was based on a short story I wrote. It started as a thought exercise and then evolved into a really depressing story about two sisters in a home, and the story is a descent into madness. We also did a narrative photo set, which shows the two sisters growing up in a very isolated home. Bad parents, Dad’s an alcoholic, and Mom is really checked out. They are each other’s worlds and all each other has. One of the sisters, Yeha, finds this dress and gifts it to Meg, who becomes essentially possessed by it. Then, over the next day, it mirrors the first day, except you can see there's something really wrong with Meg now. In the end, Meg is given a dress by a demon, which is the same dress, just in Gingham. She presents it to Yeha, who is very wary of it, knowing that if she puts it on, the same thing will happen to her. But, because they’re sisters and they’re all each other has, she chooses to do it. It’s not a happy ending, but it’s also kind of a happy ending.
Image Courtesy of Allina Liu and Lindsey Media
How do you balance high fashion looks with commercial appeal in your collection?
So, I do have a sales showroom. Every season, their feedback is ‘make it more wearable.’ Like, too many straps, too fussy. As I’ve matured, too, thinking about starting a family and all of that soon, I want to be less fussy in my clothing, too. But because it’s such a definitive factor of my aesthetic, I don’t want to dial it back too much. That’s what makes it special and unique. So, I try to start off with a crazier idea and then just kind of boil it down and then try to think of it in a commercial setting.
How do you handle the quickly changing trend cycles? How do you decide when to follow or when to break away?
Honestly, I don’t follow trends. That’s just not my thing. To be honest with you, I don’t even know where trends originate from. So, if I’m not getting it from the source, I don’t trust it. We’ve seen so many iterations of things coming back and forth. If I chase trends, I’m not sure if I can keep my brand identity strong.
What materials or techniques inspired you most in this collection?
I was thinking about sleepy pajama moments! So sheer, for me, just like a girl in her home, and you don’t have to think about anything. I love Do-ho Suh’s work. He’s a Korean Fiber artist. He uses only sheer fabrics and recreates buildings. It’s insane. But again, wearability. There are moments where it’s kind of like an X-ray, where you can see the pocket detail, and it creates layers to it. I’d say that was kind of my focal point this session, even though there are only a couple of sheer things. That’s kind of where I built off of.
