For Spring 2026, Simone Rocha stepped away from her signature darkly romantic language of design to embrace a new, surprisingly fresh tone. This season’s heroine is no longer the ethereal figure of a gothic tale, but a mischievous, flirtatious, and deliberately provocative “debutante” who plays with tradition while at the same time subverting it. The collection took inspiration from a 1992 essay by Maureen Freely, which described a young girl forced to wear her mother’s clothes and, crucially, her deep dissatisfaction with the experience. Rocha translated this idea into fashion, creating a narrative of contradictions: innocence infused with defiance, youth set against the weight of convention.
The show unfolded inside the stately Mansion House, where models with impassive faces and arms crossed drifted along to a soundtrack that swung wildly from Doris Day’s breezy melodies to the darker, hypnotic rhythms of Salem and White Ring. The atmosphere was intentionally unsettled: charming and disquieting all at once, much like Rocha’s central character a girl who refuses to meet expectations. The staging felt like a theatrical performance layered with moments of sincerity, reflecting the designer’s own personal memories.
On the runway, Rocha expanded her vocabulary. Alongside her familiar crinolines and sculptural skirts appeared glossy bra tops, translucent slips, quilted jackets, and plastic raincoats. Some models carried embroidered pillows, objects that seemed plucked from a child’s bedroom and transformed into ironic adult accessories. There was a striking absence of Rocha’s trademark ruffles, dangling ribbons, or pearly embellishments. Instead, pantalettes, boyish briefs, and a lighter palette of fabrics lent the collection a buoyant, youthful energy.
London’s runways have long celebrated silhouettes with dramatic hips, and Rocha leaned into this tradition by introducing bustles and side panniers that exaggerated volume in skirts and dresses. Yet because of the transparency of fabrics and the deliberate exposure of layers, the effect never felt heavy. Instead, it was playful, almost theatrical, yet deeply rooted in personal resonance. Rocha admitted that as a child, she would pull her mother’s slips and crinolines up under her arms to mimic dresses. That childhood game of dressing up as an adult found a vivid echo in this collection, bringing an emotional undertone to its construction.
Although some of the menswear looks seemed less integrated into the overall narrative, the collection as a whole showed that Rocha is unafraid of risk. In a London season packed with heavyweight names, she reinforced her standing as a cornerstone of the city’s fashion scene. Her Spring 2026 outing was not only a bold statement but also proof of her ability to refresh her own codes and to engage in a creative dialogue with herself. “I really wanted to look at my foundations, my codes, and push them further,” she said backstage. “It was about showing myself in the best light while allowing space for freedom and play.”
Spring 2026, in Simone Rocha’s vision, tells the story of a young woman unwilling to accept inherited structures. Her dissatisfaction becomes her strength, and her rebellion the source of freshness and seductive vitality.
Photos courtesy of Simone Rocha
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