The first thing that hits you first when you walk into John Rocha's Dover Street store at the moment is not John Rocha's own wares but his daughter's. Simone Rocha's A/W 11-12 collection is out in force at the store and as the only UK stockist, it's a fine place to go and ogle at her pieces. Call it nepotism if you must but I don't believe a designer should feel apologetic about using whatever connections and resources if they have them at their disposal if they have the talent to back it up and Papa Rocha definitely did right by Simone in proudly selling her collection.
This isn't a simple case of Like Father, Like Daughter though. If anything, my guesses are that Simone often meets unnecessary suspicions of "Oh she's on successful because her father is....". Take those mean-spirited assumptions aside and judging by her latest A/W 11-12 collection, Simone has something quite unlike what her father does, to give - something that you can see vaguely comes from the same family tree but the result is starkly different.
Her deconstructed tailoring took a big stride for A/W 11-12 with the addition of textures and a slight nod to the Prarie/Mid-West (hinted at in the 'Wanderlust' film by Columbine Goldsmith for Dossier above) with a red gingham grounding the collection somewhat. She focuses on shirting and from that stems collars, bibs and shirts in sheer fabrics. On top of that goes the mannish blazers with sections sheered out to add a much-needed delicate touch. Ponyskin coats make up a convincing outerwear offering and varies up the texture to some degree.
Where it gets even more texturally interesting is when Rocha combines chunky knit with a sheer overlay and uses a shaggy faux fur to bulk up sleeves. They become effective when employed sparingly in the collection. A bandeau dress isn't my usual bag but made up in the knit with the cloud of sheer fabric surrounding it, I'm suddenly signing myself up to that tube-dress wearing train...
Her MA degree placed her in a certain mould where you could possibly see her going in the direction of her father's footsteps but this A/W 11-12 collection defiantly communicated that she'd carve out her own niche, one that has now attracted star stockists such as colette and RA in Antwerp.
You will have seen Simone's work peppering the internetz through what many regard as the star of her show - her shoes. I don't necessarily think that they trumped over her clothing but they were certainly surprising in terms of finesse and advanced development of design. They've been described as 'invisible' heels with a chunky of lucite elevating lace-up brogues with emphasis on the negative space between the toe of the shoe and the ground. They are indeed a design wonder and in the showroom garnred plenty of gasps. Simone may find herself doing full guns ablazing with a fully developed shoe line earlier than she thinks with this stand out design. The full range of Simone's footwear is for sale at John Rocha's Dover Street store. One more excuse to pop in for a gander...
