The Awakening in Simone Rocha’s Third Act
Review of Simone Rocha Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Good things often come in threes, and with what Simone Rocha described as “The third part of a Triptych” the designer – fresh off her guest turn for Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture where she brought in her referential romanticism and let it burst forth via horned bustiers and exaggerated hips – is on a winning streak.
The catalyst for this triptych collection of the designers work was Queen Victoria, who became Queen at the age of 18 and ruled Britain for 63 years. Her spring 2024 collection titled “The Dress Rehearsal” was full of silhouettes which spoke of freedom and celebration (the pre-coronation years one suspects) through sporty parkas, oversized bow trims, and A-line dresses impersonating the layers of a birthday cake. “The Procession” ‘ i.e. her Gaultier haute couture collection marked the ascension of Queen Victoria onto the throne and into womanhood, a more aggressive take on femininity allowed Rocha to show some bite with her designs, as she updated Gaultier’s back catalogue – hiked-up skirts to reveal ruffled knickers, bulbous hip padding and ball gowns which reversed to reveal a sliver of subversive sexiness.
In todays act 3 titled “The Wake”, the show notes laid out that the collection was “Exploring the mourning dress of Queen Victoria”, preserved garments which continued her thread of shrouding her looks in light-as-air silk tulle, slightly blurring what lay beneath, never to be revealed.
Her dresses had much more structure giving in to the seriousness of the theme, but Rocha’s appreciation of the feminine form still came through as bust seams – and the bust area as a focus – were amplified throughout the collection embellished with gem stones. And like her peer Molly Goddard presented earlier in the day, the balloon shape seems to be having a moment, here the childlike nature of the dresses were driven home with bow decorated pigtails and soft toys. With this wake as an ending, it also looks to be marking the rebirth – or “rebreathing” – of her brand.
THE BUZZWORDS
Preservation, awakening, femininity embodied
THE SHOWSTOPPER
The shroud of this drop-waist dress acts as both a means to preserve what lies beneath, but could also indicate the revealing of the awakening of a direction for the designer.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
The last of Simone Rocha’s triptych could mark the beginning of a new direction for the designer, which if her time in Paris with Jean Paul Gaultier and his couturiers is any indication, an edgier, more empowered Rocha woman is about to be awakened.
