Where Imagination Wanders: A Window to the Workbench of The Moon's Alibi
How designer Emma Rose transforms her innermost experiences into extraordinary works of wearable art
By: Amanda Albert
Photographer: @candiceghaiphotography
Model: Emma Rose, @themoonsalibicollection
Hair: @pincurledperfection
There is a profound sincerity to the way Emma Rose speaks about her art. The designer of The Moon's Alibi approaches her work with the curiosity of someone still discovering what she's capable of, and a reverence for the creative minds who have helped shape her ambitions. David Bowie's philosophy of pushing beyond one's comfort zone has become something of a guiding principle, while Alexander McQueen's deeply personal approach to design remains a source of admiration.
That ambition has guided Emma, illuminating the path to what has become a defining year in her creative journey. In 2026, she debuted her first runway collection, the culmination of more than a year's work in the studio and a dream she'd held since childhood. She also found herself confronting an unfortunate reality of independent design, speaking candidly about the emotional toll of design theft by a fast-fashion brand. Both experiences reveal an artist deeply invested in the integrity of what she creates.
Yet, perhaps the most compelling part of Emma's story is how intimately her creative evolution is connected to her own. Each new piece demands something of her technically and offers an opportunity to understand herself more fully. As she continues to explore what her art can become, the ambition remains personal: to keep challenging herself, honour the work and see just how far she can go.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Emma to explore the story behind The Moon’s Alibi, and how her pursuit of creative excellence continues to shape her journey as an independent designer.
Photo Credit: Emma Rose, “Little Emma”
1. Let’s start with little Emma. Were you always a spooky girl? A fashion girl? Both? Neither? We’d love to hear about the road to The Moon’s Alibi, and when you stepped into the magnetically dark aesthetic that defines your brand today.
It all started in elementary school. I think 2nd grade was my last year dressing up as a princess anything girly for Halloween. Come 3rd grade, I dressed up as a witch - I was instantly hooked & I never looked back.
Besides Halloween, little Emma would always go into her grandmother’s closet and take her big coats, heels, and purse and walk around the house all dressed up anytime I could. It was one of my favourite things to do.
When the movie The Devil Wears Prada came out in 2006, (10 years old) I was immediately drawn to everything about it. It became my #1 favorite comfort movie and was the main catalyst for my love of fashion. From the second I saw it, I was beyond captivated by the designers, and something inside me just clicked into place. It was like an ah-ha moment for me, and I just knew that it was what I wanted to do.
I didn’t necessarily take up a darker aesthetic (besides Halloween) until 9th grade when I discovered the emo/scene style. I slowly transitioned myself into that realm, the Scene hair, studded belts, heavy makeup, and all. It has definitely slowly developed over time, but I lost that aesthetic and myself in my early 20’s because that period of my life was really overwhelming — I was dealing with a very harmful relationship and becoming a new mom. I didn’t have the space or means to express myself the way I wanted to.
After I left that relationship and situation behind, I found myself again and began discovering how I wanted to express who I truly am. That journey has been incredibly empowering and remains the very core of what fuels my passion today. That extremely traumatic experience is 100% the reason I am where I am now. It was the spark the fire in my soul had been waiting for.
Photo Credit: @themoonsalibicollection
2. Your work has undergone an extraordinary evolution before our very eyes—from belts, jewellery and body chains to exceptional, one-of-a-kind garments that blur the line between couture and wearable art. What did that progression look like from your side of the workbench?
When I first started, I knew I had to start with the basics and that I couldn’t cut any corners if I really wanted to learn and do this long-term. I started with the most basic of necklaces, and with each piece, I challenged myself to go a little bit further outside of my comfort zone.
I referenced David Bowie in my mind with every single piece and really took his advice to heart. The quote is: “If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
That quote burned into my mind and fueled the very fire that got me to where I am today.
My first extremely difficult piece was my spider web dress, and that dress was the catalyst for everything that was to come. It helped me understand exactly how capable I am of creating anything I set my mind to.
Photo Credit: @themoonsalibicollection
3. It was your Spiderweb Collection that first stole our hearts mid-scroll! Take us back to the beginning: where did the idea come from, and how did you approach engineering it? We’d love to hear about the first-draft-follies and creative problem-solving behind those proof-of-concept pieces.
My very first spider web dress was what I would call a happy accident. I had no idea it would catapult me into such intricate designs later on.
I knew I loved working with webs, as I have made them before in belts and necklaces, but I wanted to go bigger with it. My idea for that dress kind of came to me out of the blue one day, I sketched it up and started planning how to approach it mentally. Most of the work happens in my head before I ever start actually making anything; I spend a lot of time staring at a wall and sewing/beading in my mind.
At the time I was definitely way out of my comfort zone, so I just kind of had to start. First came the mapping it out on the mannequin with tape, and then slowly all the beads started coming together to shape the dress.
At first, I couldn't even get it off the mannequin. That was my first unexpected problem as I have never tried anything like it before. I eventually figured out how to place lobster clasps in the right areas to make it wearable without straining to put it on/take it off. The dress is also made with weaker wires, so I do not let anyone except my main model (Toby Taylor) wear it, and I will not sell it because of that.
I take pride in offering quality pieces, and it is not up to par for that reason. After I made that dress, I had beading wires custom-manufactured specially for me to be 10x stronger and have absolutely no chance of breaking. Every piece after that is made with those special wires.
4. Then, in 2026, The Moon's Alibi ascended to the runway. Your first collection took more than a year to create, and you’ve spoken candidly about learning as you went. What was it like to experience your first runway from the other side of the curtain—the fittings, backstage energy, and eventual moment your work stepped onto the catwalk? Was there a moment when the magnitude of the milestone hit you?
It makes me tear up just reading this question. The magnitude of that milestone still hits me on occasion. Little Emma wouldn’t believe it.
To experience that on the backstage end was an unbelievable and surreal experience. I had dreamt of that day for most of my life, not knowing I would actually do it. It took me 27 years to believe in myself enough to even try. I was also so unbelievably stressed because all my pieces are lace-up style, and harder/take longer to get in. I was in full panic mode that entire day making sure everyone fit in the pieces I had assigned them. I was hoping we could get them all dressed in time as most of them were what they call, “quick changes,” and got dressed directly behind the curtain just minutes before they walked.
Luckily the ATX Fashion Week team was wonderful, and they were a dream to work with. I also have pretty bad stage fright, so walking the stage at the end was terrifying to me, especially the suspense of knowing I had to do that for months prior. Luckily, I didn’t trip, I did OK, and I’m even more ready to do it again next time.
Photo Credit: @themoonsalibicollection
5. Half Reflection, Half Radiance is a gorgeous garment in its own right, without knowing its personal story. Learning what the mixed materials represent, and how the piece connects to your experience with neurodivergence, makes it. What inspired you to tell that story, one that so many people identify with, through your art?
Most of my art is a cathartic experience for me, as I’m sure it is for most artists. It is a way for me to tell my story through art, and, “get out,” my feelings, so to speak. When I work with my feelings and create with them, that is when I make my best art (in my opinion).
I love my Spider Web Collection to death and will probably always work with webs on occasion as it is a special interest of mine; but I am excited to further pursue a journey of making pieces that more closely resemble my personal experiences in life. I would say my Spider Web Collection was my way of learning how to make the things I want to make, and now I'm in a space where I finally have the skills to bring those deeper feelings to life through my art.
This piece was only the second I have created with those skills, & Barely Wearable was my first true “cathartic” piece with a very heavy feeling behind that one.
6. There are flashes in your work that make us think of Jean Paul Gaultier and an (entirely fictional) gothic older sister of ELIE SAAB—with the finished pieces, of course, being 100% The Moon’s Alibi. What feeds your visual vocabulary? From designers and artists to films, music and architecture, what tends to send you running back to the studio inspired?
I would say the feelings I get from something either internal or external are the main sources of my inspiration. I have been inspired by gothic cathedral architecture in the past and created cathedral style necklaces & belts. I have been inspired by the shape of mountains and wanted to incorporate that... there’s been paintings, trees, clouds, and so much more, but overall, I would say my own internal feelings are my biggest source of inspiration currently.
I come up with a lot of my pieces when I am mid-meltdown or in a state of distress. The ideas quite literally flash in my mind visually for a brief second, and I take those ideas and expand on them where I can. It is hard for me to demand designs; they have to come to me naturally and organically. Which is also why I am hesitant to take my brand further (beyond my own self). I don’t want to push myself into a place that is hard to come back from, kind of like what happened to Alexander McQueen, may he RIP.
7. There’s a tremendous amount of discipline shimmering beneath all that fantasy. Hundreds of stones still have to be placed; chains have to be cut; structures have to work; failed iterations have to be rebuilt. What does discipline mean to you as a designer, particularly when inspiration has left the building but the piece still needs to be finished?
If my heart is not in it, it is infinitely harder to keep up the discipline. I have an intense fascination with spider webs so I had absolutely no problem working tirelessly on those pieces, because I knew the final product would bring me so much joy and quite frankly, dopamine.
There are pieces I have abandoned due to my heart not being fully invested. But when my heart is 100% in it and I am doing it for a cathartic reason, I am all in; granted it doesn’t happen overnight. There are days I can’t get out of bed and push myself, & I know I have to let those days happen. Some days I only get a couple stones placed, and some days I go for 12 hours straight with no breaks. ADHD (unmedicated) runs my life currently, and it is difficult more often than not. But when I want to see the final product more than anything, that is what keeps me going. One step at a time.
8. Earlier this year, you spoke publicly about discovering that a gothic fast-fashion brand had released a garment with suspiciously striking similarities to your one-of-a-kind designs. For an independent designer creating pieces by hand, we can imagine there’s a crushing reality behind seeing your ideas reproduced at scale. If you’re comfortable discussing it, what was that experience like for you? What do you wish consumers understood about the impact that design theft can have on small businesses and the devoted artists behind them?
Initially I felt a lot of anger, and behind that anger was hurt. That piece was so special to me, and everything about it was intentional. The “nipple pasty” style pieces on the chest, the spacing of the webs on the chest, the spacing of the webs on the bottom (how they are closer together in the middle and then fade out), the thicker waist band, the two connecting straps between the bra pieces, the shape of the bottom front & back, the fringe and spikes; it was all intentional and thought out.
And, for them to just throw together a terrible version of something I worked so hard on, was just so incredibly disheartening.
It was a prime example of everything that is wrong with the fast-fashion industry and how it hurts independent artists. I am not the first they stole from, and I will not be the last, and being helpless in that situation is a very frustrating reality (for so many of us).
Supporting big businesses that steal from small artists is just enabling them and giving them the funds and permission to keep doing what they’re doing. It is just a sad reality of this world that I wish wasn’t real.
9. This year, you took the stage with your first runway collection and took a stand for independent artists in the face of fast fashion. After such a defining year, we can’t help but wonder: what can The Moon’s Alibi tease about what’s coming next?
So far, I have a fashion show coming up in November, in ATX. It is a disco/70’s themed show, and I have approx. 6-8 pcs that I will be sharing that express my take on 70’s fashion (which I am randomly sharing sneak peeks of in my stories). It is a tad modernized and risque, with lots of sparkles and flare... I am very excited about it.
Besides that, expect many more cathartic art pieces that have a deep personal meaning behind them. I am currently unable to work full-time out in the world due to personal reasons, so my art has my full-blown attention at this time. I am currently working on another duality style corset piece that I am very excited about, and it is my very first piece with a bit of colour, which is extremely rare for me. Expect updates on that in the near future!
10. Let’s indulge in a dream collaboration. If The Moon’s Alibi could join creative forces with another brand, within fashion or beyond it, who would you love to work with and what might you aspire to create together?
If we’re talking BIG dreams, unfortunately it would never happen, I would’ve absolutely KILLED to work with Alexander McQueen himself. Maybe in another life! His way of expressing such intense and deep feelings in his designs has always fascinated me and given me motivation to do that in my own work. He is one of the greatest of all time, in my opinion.
I am honestly more interested in collaborating with different versions and parts of myself, as I am a very complicated and multifaceted being that I am still figuring out, and I change on an almost daily basis, to the point that I can barely keep up. My art is also a way for me to learn more about myself. It is my entire life and what I live for (besides my kids). But if someone happens to come along on my journey and it feels right, I would happily give it a try.
There is much to admire about an artist who approaches every new creation as an opportunity to push beyond what she thought possible. Emma's commitment to her craft is inspiring, particularly in an industry where originality is so often undervalued.
Her work is a testament to the patience required to pursue creative excellence, and we're eager to see where that dedication takes her next.
With another runway show on the horizon this November, we'll certainly be watching. Something tells us little Emma would be very proud!
Follow The Moon’s Alibi on Instagram to keep up with her latest work and to see where her creative instincts take her next, then subscribe below to receive our free monthly digital issue, where conversations like this continue to unfold.
