Simone Rocha's Wake
- Eleanor Kittle
- Apr 4, 2024
- 2 min read
Sex and death greeted each other as friends in Simone Rocha’s latest show; the final instalment of a trilogy. Last season she gave us The Dress Rehearsal and in the most recent Couture week, in a collaboration with Jean Paul Gaultier, The Procession. The finale, titled The Wake, marked the end, a theme quite fitting for a designer who has always blended darkness into her designs despite their softness and elegance.
With looming, ominous ceilings, St Bartholomew’s Church provided the perfect venue for the show. In a setting of marriage and death, beginnings and endings, viewers gathered like a mock congregation, bearing witness to Rocha’s ceremony. While exploring Gaultier's archives for the Couture show, Rocha was inspired by the 'coffin' boxes in the archive. She also drew inspiration from the mourning gown Queen Victoria famously wore for 40 years after her husband's death. This theme was evident throughout the collection. The tight courtesy and overwhelming darkness, both in tone and colour were only softened through shape and texture - hourglasses were created by meticulous details and gentleness was added by faux fur touches.
The influence of 19th-century fashion was present through the excess of corsetry within the collection, yet it was entirely inverted. Delicate boning was visible, in a voyeuristic manner beneath Rocha's signature sheer fabrics, and darts or tucks on looser garments and padded hips accentuated waistlines. What was once used to constrain women is now shown in a sexually liberating and sensual manner. Beading and embellishments enhanced this effect. Broaches, traditionally associated with higher-class women, were placed over the breast, in a shape reminiscent of lips, adding an element of perversity and fetish. The length of dresses was modest for the most, falling below the knee. However, once again, the sultriness of the gauzy fabrics overturned this, allowing viewers to see the models' undergarments and figures.
Of course, the Irish designer’s signature bows were present, although these had ascended to the hair or gone down to the bust and the brand’s collaboration with Crocs also took a place in footwear. This, however, could not lighten or take away from the overwhelming morbidity of the theme.
Given our current historical context, Rocha's exploration of death in her collections is remarkably fitting. The heightened tensions in the Middle East and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine make the themes of death and mourning particularly relevant. Rocha addresses these delicate subjects with sensitivity and empathy.
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