REFLECTING ON GENARO RIVAS’ ALCHEMY OF ASHES AW25

I arrived outside the grand doors of the Swiss Church Covent Garden with a craving for something innovative, something otherworldly—something, to put it quite simply, that would awaken me from my creative slumber. Thankfully, Genaro Rivas quenched my appetite with an Autumn/Winter showcase entirely enshrouded in darkness, mystery, and witchcraft.

Photography courtesy of Georgina Wollf

Drawing inspiration from Roberts Egger's 2015 film The Witch—a New England folktale starring Anya Taylor-Joy as an outcast Puritan suspected of witchcraft—his collection Alchemy of Ashes featured a magical concoction of textures one might expect to be ingredients in a spell: wools, silks, deconstructed denim, and even human hair.

Photography of Jack Carter. Edits by dmi vas.

Rich purples, varying shades of black, and flashes of blood red evoked a sense of the feral—something unbound, liberated from the constraints of society. The use of caged corsetry, combined with fringing and sheer fabrics, deepened this imagery, conjuring a vision of a figure that had escaped civilisation’s clutches. 

The models’ body language strategically amplified the collection’s thematic concerns, adding a touch of surrealism. Marching in cult-like unison, their chins tilted skyward as if determined to avoid distraction, they summoned the eerie impression of having just left a séance.

Photography courtesy of Fan Shuhan

Photography courtesy of Xianzhu­yue Li

Weaving through rows of spectators to a backing track full of angst and grunge, the display left viewers feeling as though they’d been stirred into a hypothetical cauldron.

Meanwhile, the long plaits running down the models' backs grounded the collection in the magical realm, drawing on the belief—common in many spiritual traditions—that braiding can harness and protect one’s energy.

Photography courtesy of Jason Li

Rivas also referenced historic artworks to deepen his narrative and reflect the extensive research behind the collection. One garment featured a hand-embroidered version of Albrecht Dürer’s 1500 engraving Witch Riding Backwards on a Goat. Another cited An Incantation by the Romantic painter John Dixon, which depicts a haunting encounter between an aged sorceress and a helpless maiden.

Yet Alchemy of Ashes was not only a reflection on folklore and history—it made history in its own right. This marked Rivas’s fourth appearance at LFW, where he once again stood as the sole representative of his native homeland, Peru—a country itself steeped in spirituality and magic.

Photography courtesy of Lily Skye

As I exited, it was clear that whilst my creative appetite had been sated by Rivas’s ethereal vision, a new-fangled thirst had taken hold—one no amount of water could suppress. The Alchemy of Ashes collection left me hankering for more Peruvian talent and the dark universe Rivas had so masterfully conjured on the night of February 22nd.

Portrait of Rivas photography courtesy of Cristhian Tello.

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Daisy Culleton is an Essex-based writer with a degree in BA American Studies and History from the University of Nottingham.