Our Story

Alquema, fashion for extraordinary women.
Alquema is a proudly Australian owned women’s clothing brand based in beautiful Sydney.
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Our Founder Virginia Rouse has for decades travelled the world in search for continuous inspiration, not only for fashion, but in life. Starting as a photographer on film sets, Virginia developed her eye for detail, structure and textures. This spurred her on to make her own films, creating and capturing worlds, a language that has been effortlessly translated into her designs.
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On her travels to Japan in the 90’s, Virginia was introduced to the art of Shibori. She fell in love with the movement and textural life of this ancient Japanese craft and has continued to experiment with form and composition, forever expanding and growing in the expedition of refinement. 
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A handcrafted, artistic brand at our core, not simply in the clothing we design, fabrics we choose and the pleating we create but in the women we are. We are constantly inspired by the extraordinary women in our lives from family and friends to icons past and present. Alquema women are those who cross continents and cultures, mould us, embolden us and rejuvenate us.
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We believe that fashion is part of the road to self discovery and self expression and we are honoured to be a part of that journey. As the great Yves Saint Laurent once said, “what is important in a dress is the woman who’s wearing it.”
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Alquema are partnered with select boutique retailers Worldwide who share our love of women’s fashion and life. Our footprints travel from Australian, to the US, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Norway and New Zealand.
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