Simone Rocha’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection shimmered in the dim light of London’s St. Bartholomew the Great Cathedral. The designer, who is from Dublin, drew inspiration for her frothy white dresses from her experience having her second child. The gowns’ voluptuous proportions resembled those worn for communion, and they were adorned with ivory satin ribbons that gently trailed over the old stone floors. There were downy pointelle knit cardigans with ribbons and creamy tulle babydoll gowns iced with beautiful pearl arrangements. And a striking, recurrent motif? Nursing bras are functional pieces that are simultaneously made precious and kinky by the stones and jewels that adorn them. There was an element about the collection that was distinctly Rocha. Its surreal beauty, sure, its subtle strangeness, its dark comedy, but also the feeling of something deeper, under the surface, something exclusive to the experience of women. The designer tells me from her studio that she was really “tired and distressed” when she produced it. She views femininity as a multifaceted notion. There are two types of women: those who are conditioned historically to keep their true selves hidden, and those who are surface-level and stereotypical—“the connotations of what people think are feminine and girly,” she says. “The guts, the blood, the trauma, and the practicality.” The designer’s specialty is digging that up, and she doesn’t mind going deep. In today’s environment, being unabashedly feminine is a subversive act unto itself. According to Rocha, who launched her company in 2010, some of her customers tell her that wearing her clothes makes them feel strong and like they’re putting on armor. (It’s worth noting that the designer’s affinity with Victorian fashion stems from its ability to showcase the female form during a time when women’s voices were largely absent, despite its limitations.) She states, “They’re not clothes that want to apologize.” Indeed, the hallmark pieces of Simone Rocha—pearl-encrusted accessories, roomy smocks and jackets with exaggerated puff sleeves, and gauzy dresses with exaggerated volumes—become practically a uniform, making a strong statement of femme presence. Being the daughter of Dublin-based designer John Rocha, who was born in Hong Kong, the designer surely owes something to her upbringing in the fashion industry; at the age of three months, she attended her first catwalk show. Designing is a process that Rocha compares to writing “chapters in the same story.” Indeed, one of the most fascinating things about her art is the way it creates captivating storylines out of seemingly random threads, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, including Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and novelist Anne Boleyn. But the designer’s Irish ancestry is one of her most enduring influences. It is evident in the references to Catholicism that permeate many of her designs and in her appreciation of handicrafts; Rocha’s signature embellishments are meticulously crafted from the outset of the design process, seeming “almost like miniature sculptures.” Frequently, it’s more obvious: her Fall/Winter 2022 design, which featured expansive biker jackets and majestic high collared overcoats that spread into ruffled, wing-like shapes, was inspired by the Irish legend Children of Lir. Aside from parenting her two young daughters and getting ready for her upcoming collection, the designer’s most recent endeavor is “girls girls girls,” a significant group exhibition that she organized at Lismore Castle Arts in Ireland. The exhibition, which explores the female gaze through the work of multigenerational artists, runs until October 30. It features pieces by artists Cassi Namoda, who painted a pair of conjoined twins, and Louise Bourgeois, who created the phallic bronze Janus in Leather Jacket. Naturally, the show has an odd quality reminiscent of Rocha. Given that Rocha was inspired by Bourgeois and may have become an artist if she hadn’t chosen to become a designer, the project looks like a nice fit for her. (Rocha worked with Bourgeois’s Easton Foundation after writing her thesis for college.) What quality of hers does the designer find most admirable? “She was a very strong artist, but her strength came from exposing the fragility and distress that come with being a woman.”
