Adrian Alicea SS27 collection
Updated: 2 days ago
La Luz de Carmen
Presented by Proper Welcome Co.
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS
New York, NY | September 4, 2026
An immersive, live-fashion experience brought to life by the creative vision and precision of Dawnita Noel, show producer and co-creative director, and hosted by multi-hyphenate, award-winning artist, activist, and humanitarian Wilson Cruz, Adrian Alicea’s SS27 show presented during New York Fashion Week, La Luz de Carmen, is an homage to his mother, Carmen Alicea (1928-1998), affectionately known as "Mama Carmen."
A symbol of our deep emotion, passion, and provocation, the light of the color “Red” reflects off, enlivens, and reinvigorates each storied, one-of-a-kind piece and design in the show, reminding us of the timeless, singular beauty and power of the individuals whose stories and memories we carry forward that forever inspire and transform our lives and our respective communities. For the designer and co-creative director of the experience, Adrian Alicea, that would be the memory and legacy of his mother, Carmen Alicea, the light of the collection.
Fashion, movement, and performance converge throughout La Luz de Carmen, extending the collection beyond the traditional runway and into a fully realized creative expression. The presentation places Alicea’s designs in conversation with the theatricality, movement and character that have long defined his visual language, says Noel.
No stranger to SS27’s experience of fashion, dance, and movement, Adrian Alicea was discovered voguing at the infamous Tunnel nightclub by actress Rae Dawn Chong, which led to his and Willi Ninja’s international voguing debut in the Thierry Mugler’s couture show in Paris in 1989, a watershed moment in not only the life of the designer, who would go on to walk and be the muse for Hermès, Giorgio Armani, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Gianfranco Ferrer, Vivienne Westwood, and Patricia Fields, but also in the global fashion and dance scenes of popular culture. In aureate splendor, with music curated by DJ Chip Chop, performances by touring underground ballroom dancers Javier Ninja, Archie Ninja, Andre Mizrahi, Nova Unbothered, Daeyana, Merciano, Icon Starr, and the legendary Nyah Hall pay tribute to the memory of Willi Ninja, in addition to a performance by ballerino Keith Reeves, demonstrating the transcendent beauty of Carmen Alicea as a refracting light of boundless inspiration, hope, and transformation.
Committed to the 17 UN Sustainable Development goals for a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable world, the House of Adrian Alicea has equipped sought-after project managers, casting directors, sewers, models, stylists, dancers, performers and audio-visual techs of underrepresented and marginalized communities in North and South America and the Cayman Islands since 2010, in 36+ collections presented over 50 shows. His collaboration with Dawnita Noel, including the selection of the venue, Mad Cat Studios, and the Knockturnal publication, from production to distribution of content, has been carefully curated and executed to minimize our environmental footprint.
Repurposed and upcycled leather, lace, cotton, bold silhouettes and accessories from his prior collections along with this season’s addition of custom, one-of-a-kind, mixed-media vintage, handmade jewelry by Mad Cat Studios personalizes each namesake look adorned by each model, including icons "Connie Girl" Fleming and DJ Lina "the Princess of Light" Bradford, co-hosts of the provocative hit-podcast, “The Cutting Up: a Kiki With Connie and Lina”, Shailah Edmonds, and Coco Mitchell, director of movement of the show.
Icons styled in ADRIAN ALICEA: Beyoncé (Freakum Dress video), Zoe Saldana, Linda Evangelista, Lil’ Kim, Nick Cannon, Paris Hilton, Daddy Yankee, Blanca Soto, Judy Torres, Patricia Velázquez, Carmila Alves, Chingy, Marilyn Manson, India Arie, Larisa Martinez, Melyssa Ford, Melba Moore, Trench (Naughty by Nature), Omahyra, La India, Coco Mitchell, and Wilson Cruz, among others.
ADRIAN ALICEA SS27 | LA LUZ DE CARMEN
Thursday, September 10, 2026
891 Amsterdam Ave. New York. NY 10016
Doors Open: 5:30 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM
Designer: Adrian Alicea
Show Producer & Co-Creative Director: Dawnita Noel
Hosted by: Wilson Cruz
Showroom (by appointment only) | Press & Media Inquiries:
+1 623-396-6489
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