Simone Rocha Says Go Slow and Steady
Review of Simone Rocha Fall 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Neither past nor present, Total Tactility, Slow Design
Slow and steady wins the (fashion) race according to Simone Rocha, whose fall 2025 collection was sprinkled with references to Aesop’s fable of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ whether it was a reptilian miniaudière or a furry carcass draped over a shoulder.
Going 15 years strong, if anyone can speak to Aesop’s strategy it is Rocha. Having built her brand on subverting the saccharine and toughening up hyper-feminine dresses by skewing hems and containing volume with harnesses she has built a loyal following and a strong industry fan base. In a world that is accelerating at warp speed, the concept of going slow is sure to be scoffed at – more shows, more product, more collabs, more events, engage, engage, engage – but taking a look around you will find that many more brands are starting to pull back by reframing and reducing, whether to help the bottom line or regain exclusivity. An example of this was seen at the recent menswear season saw a number of brands hold off to show co-ed during this months presentations.
But slow and steady doesn’t mean stuck in sameness. The designer, reframing that over-used adjective ‘Timeless’ into the perfect one-liner “distilling the past for the present”, looked to her own back catalogue to twist twin sets, have fun with fur (beaver bra and knickers anyone?), and doll up denim with her signature pearl embellishment. And as the classroom is where the tall tale would have first been heard there was a clever referencing to time stolen away behind ‘Bike Sheds’ as chain jewellery and belts came adorned with a lock and key mimicking a bike chain.
Breaking the mold with her occasion-led womenswear and building a visual stable of familiar silhouettes she has yet to be bettered in her field, and it’s part of the reason she still resonates today. Her A-line and dropped hem dresses were accompanied by fringed hem satin slips and co-ords cinched together with miles of ribbon constructed to follow the curves of the body. Cuteness overload. And as in the menswear season fur had a primal nature as her models appeared as if in pre-historic under-garments, which despite the call for slow and steady, those purveyors of fast-fashion are sure to dupe come festival season.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
‘Not attached to today, solace in your own time and space’, today’s notes speak to a playbook fashion designers should adopt as a manifesto to survive the next wave of industry change, as there is an argument that less attachment should be placed on the here and now (although an acknowledgement of the chaos we are living through is of course a non-negotiable), as in Rocha’s work its sense of place is neither now or then, or someplace in the future, it’s a feel-good world that has been crafted within a space once only reserved for when the occasion called for it.
