Monster ballgowns, Irish folklore and an Adidas collab: inside Simone Rocha’s newest runway present

On the third day of London Style Week A/W 2026 (twenty second February 2026), Simone Rocha invited her viewers to ascend the slopes of North London to view her newest runway assortment contained in the Alexandra Palace Theatre. Inbuilt 1872, the placement’s historical past is befitting of the Irish designer’s penchant for melding romance and realism; not solely did the constructing burn down a mere two weeks after it opened (it was rebuilt two years later), however the theatre was famend for its particular results, with performers of ballet, pantomime and opera magically ‘dissappearing’ or ‘flying’ over the three,000 seats under them, all because of a community of intricate equipment behind the scenes.

‘I do know it’s a procession to get right here, however I actually wished to indicate the gathering within the spherical,’
stated Rocha backstage, explaining that the theatre, which is now in a state of ‘arrested decay’ after refurbishment in 2018, offered the perfect backdrop for this season’s garments. ‘I wished to strip [the venue] again, as a result of plenty of the items have been fairly ornate, fairly intricate, and romantic.’

Simone Rocha at London Style Week A/W 2026

Rocha additionally drew on three distinct sources for A/W 2026, with the present then cut up into three sections accordingly. The primary act referenced Jack B. Yeats’ 1936 oil portray ‘In Tír na nÓg’, depicting the Celtic otherworld and the ‘land of youth and wonder’, with verdant brushstrokes harking back to the timber and grasses seen on the climb to Alexandra Palace. ‘Then [with the second part], I wished to chop via the mythology with some realism,’ she stated, noting that artist and household pal Perry Ogden’s seminal 1999 photobook Pony Children was introduced in to take action.

The black-and-white photograph sequence paperwork the Traveller and Settled youth dwelling within the estates surrounding Dublin’s Smithfield Market. Right here, they might congregate on the primary Sunday of each month to promote, purchase and alternate their ponies. ‘I had three fillies, white fillies, that day in Smithfield. I used to be making an attempt to get sale for them that day so I simply rub them up a bit and so that you got here on the scene like and I used to be stuffed with hairs like,’ says one ‘Pony Child’ on the pages of Ogden’s ebook, a quote that Rocha chosen for her shownotes.

The third act examined the legacy of Elizabeth and Lily Yates. The siblings of Jack and William Yates would discovered Cuala Press in 1908, a women-led printing press publishing new work by Irish writers. Cuala’s needlework division produced embroidered textiles and tapestries as a part of the Irish Arts & Crafts motion. ‘They have been coined “The Bizarre Sisters”,’ explains Rocha, alluding to the pointed nickname given to them by James Joyce in Ulysses. ‘There’s all this superb imagery produced by Cuala Press depicting the Hill of Tara, and I actually wished to carry that earthiness into the combo.’

Opening with a diaphanous ivory look, representing ‘the white horse of Tír na nÓg’, the A/W 2026 assortment unfolded right into a blockbuster bursting with distinct Rocha motifs. Lightness – lace, tulle, silk, satin, delicate florals, twinkling embellishment – danced with the burden of thick wools, nylon, suede and shearling. The latter took the type of chunky Aran knits, double-breasted outerwear, and hardy bomber jackets cinched on the waist. Curly brown fake fur trimmed coats, or turned sleeves. A few of these sleeves even gave the impression to be lower off and paired with a charcoal gray cocktail costume, as a wierd twist on night gloves. A bar-style jacket, a part of a twinkling black skirt go well with, was given a bustle, additionally adorned with the identical permed trim.

Elsewhere, tailoring arrived in relaxed blazers teamed with kilts, or floor-skimming trousers belted and worn with a satin bralette. Ribbons have been omnipresent: affixed to clothes in patterns, or tied onto them in bows, and woven via eyelets on corset-like slices taken out of what Rocha known as ‘monster ballgowns’. And in addition in rosettes, that not solely swung from baggage and belt loops, however even multiplied to kind a blossoming, scarlet mini costume.