Dauphinette SS27: ‘Lady Mondegreen’ Perceives Olivia Cheng Through Others’ Eyes

Details throughout Lady Mondegreen emblematize that same concept of imperfection through progress.

Photography by Moment Dept.

When Olivia Cheng of Dauphinette conceptualized her SS27 collection, Lady Mondegreen, she did so through the lens of perception, asking whether that perception is real or if she’s seeing it through the eyes of those around her. A mondegreen is defined as something heard incorrectly or remembered as something else.

“Lady Mondegreen feels like the inevitable long-format exploration of the between-worlds feeling, a not-quite-this but not-yet-that form of beauty,” Cheng says. “Transformation with less fixation on the origin or the ending, but on the moment, the freeze, the split in between.”

The 24-look collection explores Cheng’s use of distress, architecture, texture, pattern, and fine art. Lady Mondegreen serves as her “moment of transformation.” While Cheng crafted this collection with similar raw hems, materials, and motifs from previous collections, she wanted to see these pieces as a display of her evolution rather than nostalgia.

Dauphinette is known for its cartoon-like flower-painted garments. This season, they turned those illustrations into intricate figural oil paintings and pressed flowers. Cheng created an in-house textile called Florganza. This technique blends real flowers into several layers of sheer silk organza without damaging them, in a pleated or sewn design.

Photography by Moment Dept.

This “moment of transformation” for Cheng, like many, often feels stagnant and frozen in time, with moments far from perfect. Details throughout Lady Mondegreen emblematize that same concept of imperfection through progress: hand-sculpted resin bags, silk chiffon, and vintage upholstery with components of beetles, garnet chips, spalted maple wood, pearls, and vintage metalwork.

Though the pieces may be distressed and architectural, Cheng brings a twist of softness and gentleness with each look. Flowing drapery, balloon dresses, soft and neutral pastel tones, and details that leave you with a sense of childlike wonder with a modern twist.

The creation of the Lady Mondegreen collection required 985 hours of hand-beading, 500 hours of hand-sewing, 66 hours of hand-painting, and over 1,900 pressed flowers sourced from local growers and Cheng’s mother’s garden. This collection also reflects Cheng’s expectations while still in her 20s and her preference to move with alignment and intention. “Maybe I misheard but didn’t misunderstand,” Cheng says. “Maybe the mondegreen is not inferior to the original lyric. Maybe I don’t need to know... yet.”