“Realism and mysticism”: Simone Rocha’s ode to Ireland
At Alexandra Palace, Simone Rocha staged a symbolic Fall/Winter 2026 ascent into Irish myth and modernity, layering Revivalist references, Traveller energy and sport into a dense meditation on realism and mysticism.
If guests were wondering why they had to journey to the heights of Alexandra Palace for the Simone Rocha show, there was meaning to the mission. Albeit a fairly complex one. “I wanted it to be a procession up the hill,” the designer said before tying her location, in one sweeping synergy of references, to her Irish Revival inspirations: the Cuala Press, the printers that helped define the country’s cultural independence and was run by Elizabeth and Lily Yeats, who made pilgrimages to the ceremonial Hill of Tara in County Meath, a nationalist symbol at the time. In 1936, their brother Jack B. Yeats painted Tír na nÓg, which depicts a solitary horseman riding through the Land of Youth.
In her show notes, Rocha also quoted the traditional Irish horse fair balled The Three Flowers. An energy of the Irish Travellers community – referenced through the 1999 book of photographs Pony Kids – imbued the look, adding not only to the equestrian undertones but to the comprehensive portrait Rocha painted of her native Ireland. Et voilà, a distinctly Irish scene was set. The collection was as layered as its references. Quite literally, elements of wedding dresses, greatcoats, floral dresses, corsetry, ballgowns, ribbons and sportswear – courtesy of a collaboration with Adidas – jumbled together in one big collage.
I wanted a realism to cut through the beauty.
Simone Rocha
It traversed the pretty, the rugged, the sexy and indeed the sporty in expressions of contrasts likewise exercised in code-swaps within the garments themselves, such as a sturdy boiler suit constructed in delicate lace or a gigot-sleeved evening jacket fashioned from a track top. “Realism and mysticism,” Rocha said. “I wanted a realism to cut through the beauty.” Her collection was a tour de force of inspiration and components, the density of which bordered on a chaotic sensibility that felt new to Rocha. Dissected through the outfit compositions, impressive constructions stood out: blazers slashed open to reveal poet-shirt lacing, and deconstructed corset dresses where the lacing had migrated to the skirt.
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