Simone Rocha's show at London Fashion Week was as much an act of catharsis as an exhibition of clothes. “It's never happened to me before that I've come out [after] and cried,” the 36-year-old says over the phone from her studio. “There was a lot of tension and then release.” This, despite her longstanding career, was just one of a few firsts from that show – another being the location’s bright environment, having favoured gothic arenas in the past. But it was her menswear debut that garnered the most excitement.
Within women’s fashion, Rocha's clothes are some of the most hotly anticipated of each season, consistently proving that designers needn’t deviate far from their original design codes to create something great. Trends aren’t part of her artistic vocabulary, and her heritage has served as a driving force for the brand since her first collection in 2010. The Irish-Chinese designer has defined her own interpretation of femininity, one that honours folklore, history and literature, and where tulle, lace and pearls are consistently the most recognisable ingredients within a sartorial feast, balanced with boyish silhouettes that add burlier undertones to each garment. It’s this mix that women globally adore, and so it’s hardly surprising that Rocha is now turning her attention to men.
When I ask her why now, she explains that it’s never been a case of seeing the two as mutually exclusive. Masculinity has always been vital to her process; referencing past collections where she honoured male characters in one of J.M Synge’s plays or decoded Dublin’s youth culture through the Pony Kids. “I think all of that has become very influential in this new journey of looking at menswear.”
Rocha’s spring/summer ’23 menswear show was set at the Old Bailey, filled with the history of those who’ve had to witness their futures change at the slam of a gavel. “We were showing men, but also [in a location] where the Suffragettes were trialled and found guilty,” says Rocha. “It was so weighted.” This emotional charge served as the background for the collection; the press release listing fragility, remorse and anger as key moods.
“To be quite honest, it was how I felt,” she says of her design process. “It was a reaction to coming out of the last few years of turmoil. I wanted to see how I could harness all these emotions, and then bring them into these garments.” For the menswear (and a lot of the womenswear), that read as deconstructed suit trousers, layered tulle bombers and ruched shirting – most of which could be adjusted by the harness-like toggles.
Masculinity has similarly been tugging in different directions as of late, from the ‘truth-telling’ podcasters who have the manly-man hostage, to those who recognise that being a 'simp' – Gen-Z slang for men who are nice to women – shouldn’t be an insult. Rocha’s clothes are for the latter. “I was interested in looking at this idea of masculinity, and the sensitivity that can be juxtaposed with it… I gravitated to the honest and the vulnerable side.” Still, you can expect a traditional, expert fit dictated by “classic masculine tailoring”, but in her hands it “becomes slightly more fragile, and more of a security blanket rather than an armour.”
Our call is a week before the collection is due to launch at Dover Street Market, and her excitement is palpable. When deciding who would be the retailer to launch with, it was a no brainer. They’ve been her supporters since day dot, and their shared vision has been completely intrinsic ever since. “Even though everything was in London – obviously now they're everywhere – it was the feeling that you can walk in there and be anywhere. I always felt so at home there as a designer.”
The Haymarket store was closed for three days prior to its launch, installing an art piece designed by fellow Irishman, Rory Mullen. “He had been at the show, and I was talking about this idea of lightness. And we were wondering, ‘How could we interpret that?’” The result? A daisy (featured heavily within the collection through delicate embroidery) blown up to giant proportions and weaving between her extended store space – a spectacle as worthy of seeing as the collection itself.
With the unveiling of her next collection in just a few weeks, her approach is a lot lighter. “It’s actually a little bit more playful,” she says. “I'm really looking forward to the show. I think [the menswear is] going to play out a little bit more; you can almost see a story, rather than the last show, which was very much a feeling.”
