Paul McLauchlan: Irish designer Simone Rocha wins London Fashion Week
Fashion designer Simone Rocha at an Irish Museum of Modern Art event last year when she discussed her design practice with IMMA Collection artist Perry Ogden — who provided inspiration for her show at London Fashion Week on Sunday. Pic: Marc O'Sullivan
Sentimental for Ireland, Simone Rocha transformed mythology and modernism into an enchanting collection staged in the round at Alexandra Palace Theatre, a restored Victorian theatre hidden inside the iconic landmark, during London Fashion Week on Sunday afternoon.
From Jack B Yeats’ 1936 painted depiction of Tír na nÓg, to ‘Pony Kids’, a seminal photo series by Perry Ogden, that captured Traveller and settled adolescent boys from public housing estates in Dublin selling horses at the Smithfield Market, Ms Rocha is heavily inspired by heroes of Irish art for autumn/winter 2026.
The Irish designer recalled Lily and Elizabeth Yeats, sisters of poet WB Yeats and painter Jack B Yeats, who are overlooked in history despite their influence on the Celtic revival arts movement.
In a backstage interview, Ms Rocha said:
“The show opens with an ivory look that represents Tír na nÓg and I wanted this cast of characters to follow and chase her, essentially looking for an impossible.”
The cast of characters existed at the juncture of youth culture and high culture, across womenswear, menswear, and sportswear, with shearling-lined satin bomber jackets, tinsel tweeds, crystal-embellished knit cardigans, patchworked tapestry prints spliced together with tailoring, lace boiler suits, organza jackets and silk taffeta ribbon gowns, with show pony rosette appliqués scattered throughout.
The colour palette evoked Irish landscapes, modern and historical, from asphalt grey and pale ivory to peat green and mossy brown.
The collection inaugurates an ongoing collaboration with Adidas Originals spanning menswear, womenswear, accessories, and footwear.
A tracksuit jacket bore the designer’s signature with exaggerated balloon sleeves. Trainers feature three stripes and Rocha’s ribbons.
"I love the idea of giving that a licence to cut through the heavier or more fragile pieces,” Ms Rocha said of the collaboration.
This is Ms Rocha’s second show at Alexandra Palace Theatre.
In September 2019, she presented her spring/summer 2020 collection at the theatre, which was built in the 1870s.
That show, inspired by the Wren Boys tradition, featured actresses including Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley, and theatre actresses Olwen Fouéré and Simone Kirby.
The eerie confines of the theatre offer a complement to Ms Rocha’s work. For all the ribbons and ruffles, tulle and silk taffeta, crystals and tinsel, Ms Rocha’s collection is underpinned with machinations of the macabre from slashed knits, shearling, and patchworked tapestries as if recovered from a dilapidated manor. There is an unmistakable grit that creates a compelling tension in her work.
Ms Rocha, who celebrated 15 years of her business in September, is at the apex of her career.
With four stores, a haute couture collaboration with Jean Paul Gaultier, a monograph, and a fast-growing business, she has become the crown jewel of London Fashion Week.
“Simone is so connected to the world around her — art, music, family, friends, folklore, dance, books, images,” said Aisling Farinella, Irish creative director and stylist, as she exited the show.
"Ideas both big and small are given space and find their way into her seductive storytelling, creating meaning and inviting us to approach the world in a new, exciting way."
On Thursday, Paul Costelloe ushered in a new era with an emotional and uplifting show following the death of its namesake founder, who died at age 80 in November following a short illness.
A mainstay on the London Fashion Week calendar for 40 years, Mr Costelloe’s ardent fanbase ranged from Princess Diana to the masses.
The late designer’s son William Costelloe, now creative director, avoided elegy and navigated his father’s legacy with the same respect and ambition.
He peddled 1980s tailoring, with exaggerated shoulders, and flouncy mini dresses redolent of his father's ultrafeminine aesthetic.
JW Anderson is another label undergoing change. On Friday night, Anderson, who also serves as Dior’s artistic director, hosted a launch party for its new Pimlico Road store in lieu of a runway show.
It comes as JW Anderson transitions from a traditional fashion brand to a cabinet of curiosities or ‘objects of elevated craftmanship’: Alongside shearling-lined aviators, knits with quirky household prints and Argyle knits, he’s peddling everything from tableware from Nicholas Mosse and Wedgwood to heritage gardening tools like French copper watering cans.
The Irish designer is intent on curation and collector’s items. The results are positive: earlier this month, it was reported that the business returned to profitability for the year ending 2024.
London Fashion Week concludes on Sunday evening with a Burberry show in Kensington Gardens.
Following years of positioning struggles, the brand posted its first increase in quarterly sales in over two years, returning to growth in China.
Under chief executive Joshua Schulman and chief creative officer Daniel Lee, the brand is embracing its British heritage, reporting an uptick in the sale of check scarves arising from kitschy marketing ploys that play nicely to its identity.
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