John Rocha
Spring / Summer 2011
John Rocha could of very easily walked down cliche avenue for spring with a show that drew its inspiration from bohemian travellers of the past century.
Instead of going down the colour explosion associated with the travelling community and gypsies , the Hong Kong born designer chose to adapt a fairly obvious reference to his signature romantic aesthetic and couture-like finishes.
Rocha’s exquisite timelessness and mass appeal was was truly reflected in the diverse fashion pack that struggled with the mayhem queue outside the show.
Rocha’s travelling girls strutted down the catwalk donning gorgeous full skirts in silk with endless layers of tulle and lace matched with oversized, asymmetrical cocoon sized rucksacks. Seemingly an odd match on paper but it all somehow worked beautifully on the catwalk.
The oh so modern and chic backpacks will certainly prove a hit with fashion editors.
The rest of the collection saw the designer interpreting the some major trends of the season such as sheer and boxy boyfriend type of blazers and jackets in black and ivory.Long skirts and maxi dresses came in nude, ivory and black.
The refined simplicity of the collection placed Rocha on trend with the wave of minimalism that has swept over New York last week and continues it’s reign in London on shows likes Hannah Marshall and Maria Grachvogel.
Rocha never stepped too far away from his love of texture and layering by ensuring there was a continuos sense of each piece having more work than appreciated at a first glance.
A mature and experienced point of view that is much like a good red wine, it only gets better with age.
