Why ALQUEMA Chose the Queen Victoria Building

ALQUEMA has spent more than 40 years refining one technique: hand-pleating fabric using a Shibori-inspired method, practiced in Sydney since the label began. When ALQUEMA opened its flagship store, the building needed to match that timeline.

The Queen Victoria Building opened in 1898. A major restoration in the 1980s returned its stained glass windows, mosaic floors, and central dome to their original condition. Few buildings in Sydney were built with the expectation that they'd still be standing more than a hundred years later.

ALQUEMA's hand-pleating process can't be rushed. Each dress takes time no machine can replicate, and the finished pleat holds its shape without ironing for years. The QVB gave the label a building constructed with the same patience the label puts into its garments.

Shop 7-9 sits on Level One, where a custom-made clothes rack displays each print and pleat on its own. Next time you're at the QVB, past the department stores and the cafes on the ground floor, take the stairs to Level One.

Visit ALQUEMA at:
Shop 7-9, Level One
Queen Victoria Building, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9267 1150

Store hours:
Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm
Sunday, 10am to 5pm