Ruth Negga, Fiona Shaw and members of Fontaines D.C. were among the attendees at Simone Rocha's S/S runway show for London Fashion Week, which took place yesterday.
Held in the ornate setting of St Stephen Walbrook Church, in a large room accented with gilded furnishings and grand crystal chandeliers, Rocha presented a collection that honed in on her classic design motifs, with large floral applique accents, preppy tailoring, oversized silhouettes and romantic textures.
Inspired by an essay by Maureen Freely about a young girl who is made to wear her mother's clothes and resents it, the 'Disgruntled Debutante' collection was another bewitching treatise on girlhood, femininity and personal conflict.
"I was looking at this feeling of giving someone a bouquet of flowers and that gesture of giving and receiving, and give and take. So that's kind of how the collection feels," Rocha told British Vogue.
The collection was also decidedly bright and sunny, with pastel yellows, greens and pinks contrasting with edgier silver sequins and black satin. Crinolines, panniers and sweeping skirts created the sense of old-world romance that Rocha has become known for, while more contemporary elements like sparkly bra tops, chunky shoes and sculptural jewellery kept the collection firmly in the present.
The designer also weaved the motif of dreams and dreaming throughout her presentation, with a number of models walking the runway clutching large satin pillows.
Rocha made use of every detail in her models' looks, right down to makeup looks that included the words 'sweet dream' across the lips, a sweet nod to notes the teenagers might write in their diaries.
The Irish designer also debuted a new collaboration with Crocs, the Ballerina Platform, which continues her well-established relationship with the once-controversial shoe.
Rocha also presented updated versions of the classic platform shoe in "pink rose" and black, and the Trailbreak sneaker, in black and "oyster", which are all due to launch in October.
The front row was star-studded, with Fontaines D.C. members Grian Chatten, Conor Deegan III and Carlos O'Connell all in attendance and wearing designs by Rocha.
Actress Ruth Negga also attended the show, wearing an all-black ensemble, while Fiona Shaw - who walked in the designer's A/W runway show in February - wore an elegant monochrome look.
Finally, Julia Fox went all out in one of Rocha's faux fur coats.
Click through the gallery above to see more from the show.
