Lace up your ballet slippers and grab your satin skirts— it’s time for another whimsical collection from Irish couturier Simone Rocha. Though a dark, almost gothic color palette still dominated as per Rocha’s typical aesthetic, lacy accents and pastels gave the capsule a youthful exuberance.

Courtesy of Simone Rocha

In accordance with the Elizabethean silhouettes seen throughout the line, Rocha writes in almost poetic meter in the show’s notes — “School days haze. Twisted twin sets. Behind the bike shed. Desire, distress, headmistress.” 

Despite being inspired by the children’s fable “The Tortoise and the Hare,” there is a more rebellious approach to the styling of the furs and rabbit iconography in each look. Rather than a reflection on childhood, the enlarged leather frocks and tightly wound chain belts feel like an adolescent take on indie sleaze. 

Courtesy of Simone Rocha

Alexa Chung, a frequent face for the front row of a Simone Rocha show, made a surprise appearance on the runway. Wearing a look including a fur bandeau, fringe midi skirt, and an oversized leather jacket, it felt like a fashion full circle moment for a style icon who embodies the Simone Rocha look in her day-to-day street fashion. 

While bows have come and gone from the trend cycle in the year or so, the balletcore aesthetic has always been a pillar of the Simone Rocha brand since Rocha showed her first collection at London Fashion Week in 2010. Without question, Rocha has always had a penchant for tulle and lace, and it is clear those aesthetics will never fade from the Simone Rocha style narrative.

Courtesy of Simone Rocha

Returning to the underlying crux of the AW25 collection — “The Tortoise and the Hare” — it is a testament to Rocha’s persistence and inspiration as a designer that she went for the theme of “slow and steady wins the race” to design this line after. The confidence in her niche is evident in her references to her personal design philosophy, as Rocha continues to reinvent herself over and over — “solace in your own time and space,” as she concludes in the show’s notes.