Familiar faces gathered at St Bartholomew the Great to marvel at Simone Rocha’s AW24 salon-style show named “The Wake” …
Jordan Hewson, Alexa Chung, Andrew Scott, Bel Powley, Celeste, Douglas Booth, Fontaines D.C., Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kristine Froseth, Maude Apatow and Tom Sturridge were among the guests who attended Simone Rocha’s AW24 salon-style show at St Bartholomew the Great on Saturday, February 17.
As London’s oldest parish church, the choice was appropriate given the title of the show – “The Wake.” In the show notes, Simone Rocha explained that her AW24 collection was the final part of a triptych which had started with “The Dress Rehearsal” of her SS24 show, before “The Procession” of her couture collection as guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier’s SS24 Haute Couture show which took place in Paris last month.
For “The Wake”, Rocha was apparently inspired by the mourning dress of Queen Victoria who famously wore black for 40 years following the death of her husband, Prince Albert. The collection was defined by models in lace-up corsets, layers of tulle, caped mini dresses, mourning coats, red ribboned earrings and balaclava creations.
Other notable details were the model’s hair rolls – ghoulishly supposed to look as if they had been lying down/dead for many years – and their footwear, a controversial collaboration with Crocs. They also carried soft toys – to represent the Church Grim, a red-eyed guardian spirit that keeps watch over ecclesiastical properties. A soundtrack of All of the People by Irish singer-songwriter Grian Chatten matched the mysterious vibe and location of the show, which delivered on its promise “to preserve and reawaken the past.”
Simone also dressed actor Paul Mescal for the Nominees Party of EE BAFTA Film Awards 2024, where he presented an award with his co-star in All of Us Strangers Andrew Scott.
Click into the gallery to see the guests who attended.
Photographer: Darren Gerrish
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