Wear Me: Alice in Wonderland and spring fashion trends

Alice in Wonderland might seem an unlikely wardrobe inspiration – but it's a perfect match to spring's most curious trends, says Harriet Walker

Tim Burton has strong links with the fashion pack. It wasn't so long ago that we went all neo-goth, not only in homage to the dark mastery of Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci but also in emulation one of the great 20th-century style icons: Edward Scissorhands, the droopiest, yet fiercest, goth of them all.

Anyone who succumbed to the leather leggings and drape jacket trend can't have failed to acknowledge Burton's influence on their look.

He's done it again with Alice in Wonderland, on release from 5 March. And fortunately, there are plenty of charming, kooky pieces around to suit a ward-robe inspired by his gothic version of Lewis Carroll's tale of the surreal.

The spring trends gel perfectly with the sinister dreamscape that Burton has created. The look is girlish without being saccharine, and pretty but not schmaltzy.

Take your cue from two of London's hottest young designers right now. For spring, Christopher Kane showed delicate pink and blue gingham-check dresses, made from chiffon and covered in intricate sequins and appliqué patterns. So far, so sweet, you might think, but bear in mind that the collection was inspired by a Texan cult.

Louise Goldin also showed ice-cream parlour shades of lilac, yellow and powder blue, but her complex body-con dresses and directional knitwear were pure sci-fi. Look out for her studded courts in Topshop.

Beware of taking the Alice trend too far. A mad hat is fun for about half-an-hour, for example. Similarly, a pocket watch is just the wrong side of steampunk to be chic. But headbands are very on-trend, and bunny ears never go out of fashion (Louis Vuitton did them, after all). Just don't team them with hotpants and a tail; half of Alice's appeal is her idiosyncratic late-Victorian stuffiness.