LONDON — Australian resortwear specialist Alemais is looking to ride on “The White Lotus” rush with its very own luxury getaway-slash-destination-show experience in Marrakech this week.

The brand on Tuesday is set to unveil a stand-alone resort collection in collaboration with the celebrated Moroccan artist Laurence Leenaert at the Rosemary, a boutique hotel right next to the breathtaking Bahia Palace.

The “White Lotus” effect has helped Alemais items fly off the shelves at retail partners around the world including Net-a-porter, Selfridges, Liberty, Harvey Nichols and Mytheresa, according to the brand’s founder and creative director Lesleigh Jermanus.

In the most recent third season of the viral HBO drama, multiple characters wore summery, beach party-ready styles from Alemais. Michelle Monaghan’s character, Jaclyn Lemon, for example, arrived at the fictional luxury resort in a yellow mini halter dress by Alemais.

In the later episodes, Parker Posey’s character, Victoria Ratliff, wore a checkered number with balloon sleeves and kaleidoscopic florals by the brand, while Kate Bohr, played by actress Leslie Bibb, donned an Alemais cutout dress during a city wandering scene.

“The costume designer reached out to our team in November 2023. We obviously jumped at the chance, and we sent them our look book from the resort 2024 show, and they made a bunch of selections, and we didn’t hear anything after that,” Jermanus recalled.

“The only inkling we got that they were going to use one of the styles was Bibb’s character. They said that they wanted to know before they shot the scene, whether they could have three of the same dress in the exact print, same cut, because they said it was part of an action scene. We got excited and started to wonder what type of actions it would be. Then every single episode, I was just glued to the TV,” she continued.

Jermanus said that because of the “White Lotus” effect, the brand had to rerelease the styles featured in the show.

“It has been wild. People were emailing. We’ve already sent out a preorder for the styles just before the finale. The Parker Posey dress sold out straight away. And then we’ve had sign-ups for it. We didn’t advertise it specifically, but everyone seemed to find it,” she added.

The Marrakech show is aimed at reaffirming the brand’s association with one-of-a-kind holiday experiences like the one depicted in “The White Lotus,” and Jermanus’ personal connection to Leenaert made the historic Moroccan city the ideal location to kick off the brand’s next stage of growth ambition.

“I just felt it was the right time for us to expand into that international space. I met Leenaert about eight years ago, and we just stayed connected. We’ve always talked about collaborating. We have a very similar ethos. She works with Moroccan artisans for her multidisciplinary lifestyle and interior brand Lrnce,” said Jermanus, Zimmermann’s former longtime head designer.

“We wanted to invite just a small group of guests, bringing them along to experience both of our worlds together. The brand will be new to a lot of people. I guess that the growth we’re seeing internationally, it feels like the right time for us to be stepping out into this,” she added.

Prior to the “White Lotus” fame, the five-year-old Alemais had been growing steadily in Australia to become a team of 50 people spread across Sydney, the U.K. and Portugal.

The brand opened Australian Fashion Week in 2023. The following year, Jermanus won Designer of the Year at the 2024 Australian Fashion Laureate awards. 

Thanks to its flattering and diverse offerings, bright and original prints, and democratic price point, the brand is now stocked at more than 469 retailers across 60 countries. A dress from the brand retails between $365 to $720, while the swimwear range goes from $120 for a barlette to $290 for a one-piece.

Some 73 percent of the business is in wholesale, and more than 80 percent of them are international stockists. The U.S. and Europe are two of its biggest markets. Overall, the brand’s international wholesale business is growing 46 percent year-over-year, according to Jermanus.

“It truly feels like a design-led brand that we’re trying to create something that feels aspirational, but it’s still in that contemporary space where people can buy into. People always tell me that they feel joyful when they wear the brand, it makes them feel happy,” Jermanus added.

Looking ahead, in addition to pop-up stores in Le Bon Marché in Paris, Selfridges in London and Bloomingdale’s in New York and Miami, the designer said she likes the idea of bringing the brand’s second destination show to Madagascar.

“We’re always thinking about different parts around the world, especially where our manufacturers are. We’ve got an amazing artisan in Madagascar, where they do the hand raffia work. It’s a family atelier, and so we’ve been talking to them a lot lately. So maybe that’s our next destination,” Jermanus said.