Hong Kong and Her Heritage
"It's really lovely to be back after a long period that I'm used to. It still feels like home." Simone says. "My dad is from Hong Kong. He's one of seven. A lot of my memories are around our family, having food together, and all day mahjong. It's been great to be back."
Dressed in a white dress with an oversized collar, the designer is at home in her Ice House shop, "it was so amazing walking back into the store. It felt like walking into a jewellery box, and I was proud to see it gleaming. Compared to the London and New York shops, Hong Kong is intimate and allows the pieces to shine."
Simone Rocha's distinctive designs have earned her a cultish following, and intricate details are consistently present in all her pieces. Influenced by her dual heritage, she harnesses what comes "naturally to her". Accents of red run the course from her earliest designs, an integral shade in both. She explains that it's no coincidence that this colour has become a big part of her label as it also "very much represents femininity to me, so that can mean love, blood, the bloodline of life, and family. It also has a real kinship to Hong Kong."
Dressed in a white dress with an oversized collar, the designer is at home in her Ice House shop, "it was so amazing walking back into the store. It felt like walking into a jewellery box, and I was proud to see it gleaming. Compared to the London and New York shops, Hong Kong is intimate and allows the pieces to shine."
Simone Rocha's distinctive designs have earned her a cultish following, and intricate details are consistently present in all her pieces. Influenced by her dual heritage, she harnesses what comes "naturally to her". Accents of red run the course from her earliest designs, an integral shade in both. She explains that it's no coincidence that this colour has become a big part of her label as it also "very much represents femininity to me, so that can mean love, blood, the bloodline of life, and family. It also has a real kinship to Hong Kong."
Storytelling and The Children of Lir
The power of storytelling is essential and brings a sense of security to the Irish designer, and her FW22 Collection takes her back to a story she grew up with and is now sharing with her children. "The Children of Lir is a story that many people know growing up. It's a cautionary tale, and my collections can't be helped but be influenced by the times around us." Identity is an integral aspect of Rocha, with the Irish folklore becoming a "natural place" for her to start designing and influencing the "silhouette, the fabrication and the storytelling itself."
As a storyteller, Rocha's favourite part of the design process is the runway show, when all the parts of a story converge. Simone says that when "the story that you see in your head, you see it physically and being embodied by people. For me, fashion is a very human experience, and that is the final puzzle piece."
As a storyteller, Rocha's favourite part of the design process is the runway show, when all the parts of a story converge. Simone says that when "the story that you see in your head, you see it physically and being embodied by people. For me, fashion is a very human experience, and that is the final puzzle piece."
Bringing Sensitivity Into Menswear
Storytelling continues in her latest Collection, "this season was very much the introduction and the beginning of the story," Rocha says on her expansion into menswear for her SS23.
Harnessing "feelings, emotions and the idea of protection" as the backbone of her storytelling, the designer takes classic men's tailoring and brings in a "sensitivity to menswear" filtrating into the process from the fabrication, draping to fitting.
Harnessing "feelings, emotions and the idea of protection" as the backbone of her storytelling, the designer takes classic men's tailoring and brings in a "sensitivity to menswear" filtrating into the process from the fabrication, draping to fitting.
On the Horizon
Simone Rocha's expansion into menswear excited us about what is on the horizon. When asked about a possible foray into the land of beauty, Simone says that she would love to, as "it is a huge part of our show. It is something that we talked and researched about long before the show. There's a continuation in the story, fabrication and narrative. I also enjoy doing children's wear, especially when I did it as part of my H&M collaboration. I adored it. Right now, we're developing into men's, but it's not to say I wouldn't love to do children's as well."