Simone Rocha A/W 2015

Mood board: Citing the influence of American artist Louise Bourgeois - nicknamed Spiderwoman for her most famous sculptures - structure was of particular importance to Simone Rocha this season. She toyed with clothes' attachment to the body, padding her scalloped velvet opening looks, before backless lace sheaths clung on by threads. Rocha's dark tapestry prints - which were ruffled into apron dresses showcasing her signature blend of saccharine and sophisticated - also neatly linked to Bourgeois, whose family owned a tapestry factory.
Scene setting: The Irish designer has a habit of turning a fashion show into a religious experience, and her choice of Guildhall's medieval surrounds with its Gothic windows and stone arched roof, took that pilgrimage one step further.
Best in show: Ceremonially draped, ruffled tweed looks spoke directly to her on-site fan base, while fringes of hair, perhaps borrowed from kilt sporrans, became Rochas' latest enrichment fetish, adorning the shoulders of her voluminous evening coats or acting as modesty patches on tulle lace numbers.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
-
Wayne McGregor on collaborating with fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner to outfit youth dance work
Ahead of the London premiere of ‘Novacene’ – Wayne McGregor’s new work for the National Youth Dance Company – the choreographer talks about collaborating with Grace Wales Bonner on the performance’s costumes at Sadler’s Wells
By Jack Moss • Published
-
In memoriam: Paolo Portoghesi (1931 - 2023)
Postmodernist Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi has died; writer David Plaisant celebrates his life and legacy, recalling his visit to Calcata for a feature in the Wallpaper* April 2021 issue
By David Plaisant • Published
-
Cindy Sherman’s freaky new portrait collages dissect the divided self
We preview Cindy Sherman’s new portraits, on view at Hauser & Wirth Zurich during Zurich Art Weekend – which will see digitally manipulated collages explore the many facets of society
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published