From the lens of a modest fashion writer, Victoriana meets contemporary Turkish street style, wrapped up with a dose of tasteful extravagance, in Simone Rocha’s spring/summer 2021 collection.
The Irish fashion designer is known for extravagant femininity with deconstructed tailoring, and her spring/summer 2021 collection is a fantastic showcase of this unique aesthetic. The designer presented her collection at a socially-distanced showcase at London’s Hauser & Wirth Gallery yesterday, giving fashion critics a taste of fairytale escapism, hardened by a glorious punkish touch.
If Marie Antoinette was a rebellious teen in the 21st century, this, perhaps, is how she would dress: with decadence and fanciful layers, in silhouettes that are also markedly modest, covering the skin and leaving much to the imagination. Simone Rocha’s trademark voluminous silhouettes, taking the shapes of Lolita-inspired dresses but stamped with an unmistakable air of regality, featured brocades, jacquards, and ruffles galore, completed with platform sandals and satin ballerina flats. Mixed in amid the midi-length ballgowns were ensembles consisting of layered cropped tops, crisp tunics and easy breezy culottes — staples of today’s modern-day, trend-conscious, modest fashion consumer.
Perfecting the art form of contemporary, conservative couture, Simone Rocha’s feminine punk fashions will no doubt attract women across the globe who have found themselves deliberate or unwitting fans of the modest fashion movement that has taken the industry by storm — in fact, 80% of the spring/summer 2021 looks could pass as modesty-compliant by mainstream standards.
Overall, the designs evoke feelings of both nostalgia and escapism, and it would have been a shame to waste them on a purely-digital showcase. “It’s important to me to find a way to physically share the collection, just for the silhouette, texture, and weight of it. Clothes are made of cloth, and emotions, and they come to life on a body,” the designer told Vogue.
Featured images sourced from Simone Rocha
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