Collapsed high fashion designer Alice McCall has brushed off critics who have slammed her collaboration with a Chinese fast fashion giant.
While the Australian brand believes the comeback will attract a ‘wider audience’, ’embarrassed’ and ‘devastated’ fans have slammed the decision, saying it goes against everything the company stands for.
Responding to the backlash, founder Alice McCall told FEMAIL: ‘Everyone has a right to express their views.’I’m just very much focused on the launch of this collection which I truly believe in.’
The label was founded in 2004 but struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic before going into liquidation in February owing $1million to creditors.
The pieces were regularly featured on red carpets and in high fashion editorials for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle and the brand was beloved for what many described as its ‘playful sensibility’.
Customers have been left ‘shocked and embarrassed’ after Australian fashion label Alice McCall announce a collaboration with Chinese brand Shein
Following the announcement on Monday, fans flocked to Instagram and X to share their opinion and shock
On X one person wrote: ‘Absolutely devastating to see what’s become of Alice McCall’
Another said she is ‘absolutely devastated’
Following the announcement on Monday, fans flocked to Instagram and X to share their opinion.
‘Alice McCall x Shein is so embarrassing.. why would you tank your own brand like that?’ one wrote.
‘Designer who went bust decides to collaborate with a sweat shop factory,’ another said.
‘Absolutely devastating to see what’s become of Alice McCall,’ a third added on X.
On Instagram, a commenter wrote: ‘The Alice McCall brand makes one of the most disappointing moves in a desperate attempt to make money. Having to turn off the comments on the Instagram post just an hour after posting is the cherry on top.’
Another said they were ‘shocked and enraged’ by the decision.
Speaking of the backlash, Ms McCall (pictured) told FEMAIL ‘everyone has a right to express their views’. ‘I’m just very much focused on the launch of this collection which I truly believe in,’ she said
However, Ms McCall said: ‘This collaboration will allow a whole new audience, who may not have been able to afford an Alice McCall piece in the past, the opportunity to purchase a piece that is every bit as good as anything I have previously created.
‘One of my principles as a designer is to make garments that last and I’ve taken this philosophy through to the pieces in this collection.
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‘A highlight for me with this collection was that, for the first time in my two decades as a designer, I have been able to work with rescued fabrics and have also used recycled polyester in this collection.’
‘This collaboration will allow a whole new audience, who may not have been able to afford an Alice McCall piece in the past, the opportunity to purchase a piece that is every bit as good as anything I have previously created,’ Ms McCall said
The collection will launch on November 16 in Australia, New Zealand and the US with prices ranging from $15 for a bralette to $120 for a dress
‘I have always resonated with the idea that my designs can become attainable to a wider audience, so when the opportunity to partner with SHEIN presented itself, it felt like I was able to turn this vision into reality’ Ms McCall added.
‘A highlight for me was that, for the first time in my two decades as a designer, I have been able to work with rescued fabrics and have also used recycled polyester in this collection.
‘The styles feel fresh, elevated, easy to wear and obviously Alice.’
One fan hit back over the brand’s sustainability claims and, saying polyester was not an environmentally friendly material.
‘Given designers are well are of Shein’s practices, polyester as a fabric is just plastic and not sustainable nor environmentally friendly or ethical in anyway, this collaboration reeks of just doing it to make money,’ the Instagram comment read.
A Shein spokesperson said: ‘Alice McCall’s flirty, feminine collection, coupled with her use of preferred materials, such as rescued fabric, will hit the mark for many customers around the world’
A Shein spokesperson said: ‘We are always identifying ways to bring customers more of what they love.
‘Alice McCall’s flirty, feminine collection, coupled with her use of preferred materials, such as rescued fabric, will hit the mark for many customers around the world.’
The collection will launch on November 16 in Australia, New Zealand and the US with prices ranging from $15 for a bralette to $120 for a dress.
The collection incorporates rescued textiles sourced via Shein’s partnership with Queen of Raw, a global circular economy technology company.
Shoppers can expect pastels, floral prints, nods to 70s Italian lingerie, art nouveau-inspired pieces and more in the feminine collection.
In November 2020, Alice McCall went into voluntary administration.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Ms McCall said: ‘After two decades, I have come full circle with the brand, Alice McCall. It is time to close the doors, making space for a new chapter in my life.
‘I want to say thankyou and acknowledge all the people that have worn , supported and loved the brand over the years.’
It was also reported McCall owed more than $1million to its creditors with more than half of the money indebted to the Australian Taxation Office.
