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London Fashion Week: Simone Rocha goes to Church

By Don-Alvin Adegeest

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Fashion

On a recent visit to Dover Street Market in London, a true blood retail mecca of eclectic fashion visionaries, it was Simone Rocha's collection on the ground floor, situated amongst a flurry of Comme des Garcons brands and a 'bird's nest perfume tower' that grabbed one's attention. At the iconic store's Haymarket opening earlier this year her collection was displayed inside a clear Perspex room, an apt choice for the young designer, as hers became the unmissable focal point of the room.

To say Rocha has arrived, is an understatement. In the six years since her graduation from Central Saint Martins in 2010, Rocha been one of the most fascinating and consistent designers to come out of the cocoon of emerging British talent and blossom into a visionary all her own, and it is no coincidence her brand is stocked in the most fashion forward retailers around the globe.

Rocha was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1986, the only daughter of John and Odette Rocha, the former also a stalwart of London Fashion Week in the nineties. But whereas John Rocha took the route from luxury to high street, Simone has kept her label small, organically growing her business, but never stepping too long into the mainstream of fashion's more obvious channels, like celebrity or overt public relations. In 2008 she graduated with a BA in Fashion from The National College of Art and Design in Dublin before coming to London to do an MA in fashion.

Rocha's handwriting is as ethereal as it is sharp

Whereas her father successfully carved a niche for himself with traditional crafting, beading and appliquée to garments, Simone's touch is more minimal, shaper perhaps, but equally mesmerising and contemporary. Her collection last winter featured tapestry and tulle, tweed and lace, a balance of intricacies and dark romance, a theme that was also relevant in her current AW16 collection, which according to her show notes was 'tailored tulle, tinsel tweed, female form, adorn, adorned.' In terms of fashion, this translated into double-breasted coat dresses, rough, artisanal tweeds, and detailing such as over-sized pockets. Handy, if you consider Rocha had just given birth and those pockets could be filled with a new mother's multitude of necessities.

For SS17 the first 10 looks featured only white dresses

At London Fashion Week on Saturday Rocha showed her spring summer '17 collection at the gothic Southwark Cathedral in London. The first ten exits featured only white dresses, some in fine lace that appeared to be unraveling, some in her signature broderie anglaise, where you wondered if they were meant to be ceremonial or erotic, such was the undertone. Elsewhere there were layered florals, semi-transparent sheers and loose-fitting silhouettes. Maiden dresses made for work: "hard working days," said the show notes, as did “coming home,” and citing Jackie Nickerson’s photographic essay 'Farm' as an influence. "It was all these beautiful Victorian Catholic paintings, mixed with textiles from workers on the farm. There was poetry from the old masters, but I wanted to ground it with a utilitarian, or uniform, feel," Rocha told Vogue.

In 2014 Rocha was the recipient of the BFA New Establishment Designer of the year

The complexities of Rocha's collections are precisely what is celebrated about this designer. Her accolades certainly aren't few. Rocha was crowned the prestigious Emerging Designer British Fashion Award in 2013, the same year she won Best Future Fashion Wallpaper* Award. She was a finalist in the inaugural LVMH prize, and won Young Designer of the Year at The Harper’s Women of the Year Awards 2014 as well as the 2014 British Fashion Award for New Establishment Designer.

John Rocha once told the Irish Mirror: "I’m very pleased as her father, for my daughter Simone to be able to stand her own ground and be countable for herself. Nobody expected how phenomenally successful she would become. She is so successful in the whole world. She believes in herself and she is true to who she is and she has captured people’s imagination. The only advice I keep giving her is 'darling just be careful. This will not go on forever. Enjoy it while you can and be prepared to be able to handle it when it turns.”

Sounds like the best advice a designer could receive.

Photo credit: Simone Rocha SS17 catwalkpictures.com, Simone Rocha Mount Street boutique

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