Simone Rocha (born 1986) is an Irish

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashi ...

. She is the daughter of fashion designer

John Rocha John Rocha CBE (born 23 August 1953) is a Chinese-Irish designer born in Hong Kong. He is based in Ireland. Biography He moved to Ireland after graduating from the Croydon School of Art, London. Known for his hand-crafting, beading and appliqu ...

, and trained at the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

, Dublin and at

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

, London. She launched her graduate collection in 2010 at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

and in

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

. She was named Young Designer of the Year in 2014 by '' Harper's Bazaar'', and Womenswear Designer of the Year 2016 at the

British Fashion Awards The Fashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contribu ...

Career

Rocha was born in Dublin,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1986; her father is

. She later felt that it was "inevitable" that she would follow in his career, adding that fashion was "100% part of erlife". Rocha worked at her father's studio between the ages of 13 and 18. She trained at the

in Dublin, Ireland, and under Louise Wilson at

in London. Rocha showed her graduate collection at the

gallery, and in

for the first time in 2010. Her first fashion installation was in the window of

Dover Street Market Dover Street Market is a multi-brand retailer originally located on Dover Street, in Mayfair, London. It has stores in New York City, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing and Los Angeles. Dover Street Market was created by Rei Kawakubo of Japanese fashio ...

in London, with the company the first to stock Rocha's designs. She had an outlet within their store when it was located on

Dover Street Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It also ...

, and continues to have one within their new store in Haymarket. In the early days, her lines were also stocked by Paris-based boutique

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

. More recently, Rocha has opened independent stores of her own in both London and New York. In her native Ireland, her only stockist is Havana in Dublin. '' Harper's Bazaar'' named Rocha their Young Designer of the Year in 2014, and in 2016 she was named Womenswear Designer of the Year at the

. Rocha's work has previously been worn by the

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Briti ...

and

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

. In 2018, she collaborated with the Italian brand

Moncler Moncler S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion house specialized in ready-to-wear outerwear headquartered in Milan, Italy. Since its start as a down jacket boutique, Moncler has expanded to design vests, raincoats, windbreakers, knitwear, leathe ...

as part of their Genius Collection series. In March 2021, Rocha had a collaboration line drop with Swedish

Fast fashion Fast fashion is a term used to describe the clothing industry's business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail stores quickly, while demand is at it ...

company H&M.

Personal life

She is married to cinematographer Eoin McLoughlin, and they have a daughter together. They live in

De Beauvoir Town De Beauvoir Town is a neighbourhood in east London and is in the London Borough of Hackney, north of the City of London. The area was a part of the Hackney; the Ancient Parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough that was incorporated into the ...

, London, where her design studio is also based.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocha, Simone Living people 1986 births Irish fashion designers Irish women fashion designers People from Ranelagh