Simone Rocha: The Superstar Designer’s Sell-Out Collection For H&M Proves She’s One Of Fashion’s Greats

The latest H&M collaboration was with a designer who celebrates strong women – and creates genius outfit-makers, says Grazia’s Kenya Hunt.

Updated on12th March 2021 at 5.30pm

After a decade in business, Simone Rocha has joined a pantheon of The Greats. Karl Lagerfeld. Rei Kawakubo. Alber Elbaz. Martin Margiela. Donatella Versace. Stella McCartney. On March 11, she became the first Irish designer to release a collaboration with H&M. ‘It’s amazing to be a part of that history,’ she told me from her studio in East London where she had been preparing her autumn/winter 2021 collection for the latest season of virtual London shows.

COVID has had a devastating impact on many of the UK’s fashion businesses, but Simone Rocha is not one of them. Her beaded earrings and bejewelled hair slides, in particular, long popular among fashion insiders, have gotten a second life in lockdown as women looked for little outfit makers in a year in which they’ve largely been seen from the shoulders up. And now, her subversively pretty pieces are available to the masses (that is, if they haven't already sold out).

Grazia's Simone Rocha x H&M shoot ©Nadia Ryder

Since debuting its first designer capsule in 2004, H&M’s collaborations have become the stuff of fashion history, each launch garnering notoriously long queues, shockingly fast sell-out times and famously high re-sell prices. For many shoppers, it’s the gateway purchase to the world of high fashion. ‘I’ll never forget that first one; it was Karl Lagerfeld,’ Rocha said recounting her earliest memory of the partnerships. ‘And I remember thinking it was so wild and pioneering for someone like him as the head of Chanel to do the high street. It was huge.’

For a designer, to land one is a sign that you are crossing the threshold into joining fashion’s big leagues of household names. For Rocha, the moment feels even more momentous because it shines a light on Ireland, a source of great pride. Born in Dublin, Rocha is the daughter of designer John Rocha, the man largely credited with putting Irish fashion on the map. ‘This collection is a tribute to Ireland in a way and you see that in a lot of the pieces such as the jumpers. I did a lot of Irish knitting,’ she explains. ‘And this collection is also an ode to strong women.’

Like all the most memorable H&M collaborations, Rocha’s is a highlights reel of her greatest hits, and more. There is the bulbous pink coat, which was inescapable in the early 2010s. And her trademark full-sleeved and full-skirted floral and sequin dresses. And the tartan straight leg trousers with the frilled pockets at the hips. ‘This covers all the touchstones moments of my career,’ she says. ‘I keep quite a heavy archive. Since I was a student, I have been documenting everything about all my work. So going back, it was like meeting old friends. I wanted to pick out things that felt really pivotal for me. Like when I introduced the neoprene and the pearls for the first time.’

Grazia's Simone Rocha x H&M shoot ©Nadia Ryder

And she hopes to build on the pivotal firsts introduced this time around. The collection marks her first ever foray into children’s and men’s wear, something she describes as a natural step in the progression of her brand. Might we see her formally launch ready-to-wear for both in the future? Possibly. ‘I incredibly enjoyed designing for men. I’ve always mixed the masculine and feminine in my work. I’d love to look at this in the future, especially the children’s wear. We are thinking about it.’

Most notably, the collection is a welcome reminder that there is more to get dressed for than the rectangular screen. Though anything designed by Simone Rocha has plenty to make a person stand out on Zoom. ...