Simone Rocha London Fashion Week Women’s S/S 2019

Mood board: Twice-yearly shows present an intriguing conundrum for designers in these fast moving times. So much can change in the months between a collection going on sale and the next one winging its way to the stockroom. Each is a premonition for what we might need next. Rocha’s feminine vision takes all of the hallmarks – the textures, the colours, the poufy shapes, the pearls and sweetness – and skews it. So pockets are lined with marabou, lapels are layered that extra time, sheer fabrics are thrown on top of outfits, lending a subversive kink. The season ahead has a palette of pure white, pale lavender, shocking Argento red and bright black. Femininity is constructed with humour, elegance. The puff-ball dresses and closing strapless gowns were stuffed with joy.
Scene setting: What better time for a splash of modern-day glamour in these dreary days? Rocha knows what joy is locked in the glint of a metallic textile, the wink of a swinging hem. The Simone Rocha woman is eccentric – she wears flat pointed mules lined with marabou fur, carries a pearl studded handbag and loves flowers and hats and a frill. And as is befitting for a label so well loved for its lavish quirkiness and off-kilter couture-ish kitsch, Rocha invited guests back to Lancaster House mansion in St James, a stand-in for Buckingham Palace in TV and film.
Best in show: The collection took the meaning of Sunday Best and ramped it up into a magical froth of poetical, dreamy clothes. There were suits that put cropped trench coats with matching below the knee skirts. Wallpaper brocade and rich floral tapestries were cut into operatic frock-coats and cheongsam blouses or tailored long shorts. Silk taffeta balloon skirts and giant puffy sleeves extended from tiered, tweaked, scalloped dresses. 18th century paintings of Chinese women were blown up onto the front of dresses, their faces half obscured with a layer of sheer silk.
Simone Rocha S/S 2019.
Simone Rocha S/S 2019.
Simone Rocha S/S 2019.
Simone Rocha S/S 2019.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
-
Enter the world of Cave Bureau, and its architectural and geological explorations
Nairobi practice Cave Bureau explores architecture’s role in the geological afterlives of colonialism, as part of a team exhibiting at the British pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
By Marwa El Mubark
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressing
Part of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
By Orla Brennan
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationship
Announcing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
By Hugo Macdonald
-
Inside Louis Vuitton’s Murakami London pop-up, a colourful cartoon wonderland with one-of-a-kind café
Wallpaper* takes a tour of the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up in London’s Soho, which celebrates the launch of a new ‘re-edition’ accessories collection spanning the greatest hits from the Japanese artist’s long-running collaboration with the house
By Jack Moss
-
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UK
As A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
By Jack Moss
-
Margaret Howell London Fashion Week Women's S/S 2019
By Dal Chodha
-
London Fashion Week S/S 2023: Ahluwalia to Martine Rose
Though slimmed-down, London Fashion Week nonetheless provided the moments of creative expression the city is known for – from Ahluwalia’s ode to Africa to Martine Rose’s much-anticipated runway return
By Jack Moss
-
Discover these fashion brands at London Craft Week
During London Craft Week, fashion brands including Smythson, Bally and Serapian are hosting events across the capital
By Hannah Silver
-
London Fashion Week S/S 2022: eight important insights to know now
Fashion brands are back with a bang in The Big Smoke. Here’s everything you need to know from London Fashion Week S/S 2022
By Laura Hawkins
-
Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London
By Laura Hawkins
-
London Fashion Week A/W 2021: the future of post-pandemic dressing
London Fashion Week's first digial only-offering imagined a wardrobe for life after lockdown, by brands including Burberry, Simone Rocha and Priya Ahluwalia
By Laura Hawkins