‘Distilling the Past for the Present’. This was the title of Simone Rocha’s fashion show, with poetic notes that perfectly synthesised the essence of her latest proposal: ‘past, present, presence, pretend’. Simple phrases but impregnated with the depth that only the London designer knows how to capture. With the Autumn/Winter 2025 collection, Rocha not only revisited her past creations, but also evoked historical spaces, such as Goldsmiths’ Hall, where she walked the catwalk in FW18, to give shape to a collection that exudes nostalgia, but at the same time feels absolutely contemporary.
Taking Aesop’s fable The Tortoise and the Hare as a reference, Rocha immersed himself in the past, calmly and steadily, to build a visually sophisticated future. The collection stands as a kind of synthesis of his most recognisable aesthetic codes: silhouettes marked by the energy of bows, structured shoulders, luminous embellishments and the presence of fur and textiles that break the norm, elements that merge with a modernity that is profoundly his own.
Behind the curtain, the designer spoke about school uniforms, about the characters that populate the imaginary of childhood: the headmistress, the teacher, the children, and how these roles took shape in her models. Among the figures gracing the catwalk were names such as Alexa Chung, Bel Powley, Fiona Shaw, Andrea Riseborough, Minha Kim of Pachinko and Fionn O’Shea of Normal People. And as is typical of Rocha’s vision, everything about the show was marked by an ironic distortion of convention. One of the models, for example, walked with a gesture of total disinterest, arms folded, as if emulating the more disruptive ‘I don’t care’ attitude.
But the real star of the evening was undoubtedly the hare. Or, to be more precise, the rabbit. This animal was presented in an infinite variety of forms: as handbags, as plush stoles, wrapping the models’ necks or even as oversized scarves, as if it were an accessory as emotionally charged as it was absurdly playful. Their presence materialised in fluffy finishes, in soft plush and even in satins that evoked a sense of distorted innocence, with buttons adorned as eyes. Turtle-shaped rigid resin bags, on the other hand, were a nod to past collections.
The collection shone not only for its emotional charge and aesthetics, but also for the way in which a timeless youthful narrative was constructed. On the men’s side, the proposal was filled with shorts, brogues and rugby shirts, while on the women’s side, Rocha’s imprint remained intact, reinventing classics: leather biker jackets, faux fur coats, pink silk jacquard and his iconic bouclé tweed, torn into ribbons and knotted with red and pink bows. Footwear was constructed from faux fur ballerinas and kitten heels. The absence of his iconic Crocs collaboration was barely noticeable, which is an achievement in itself.
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