On 22 February 2026, Simone Rocha returned to Alexandra Palace Theatre for her Autumn Winter 2026 show, six years after debuting her Spring Summer 2020 collection in our Victorian theatre.
This season, inspired by Irish art, mythology and modern femininity, the show was staged entirely in the round, with guests encircling the runway to experience the collection from every angle. Rocha embraced the stripped-back auditorium and its celebrated ‘arrested decay’, allowing the raw textures of the building to heighten the intricacy of the clothes.
As she explained to Wallpaper, she wanted the detail to stand against the rawness of the space. “I wanted to strip [the venue] back, because a lot of the pieces were quite ornate, quite intricate, and romantic.”
The result, as Rolling Stone declared, was that “London Fashion Week undeniably belonged to Simone Rocha this season.”
Three Acts. Irish Myth, Memory and Modernity
The collection unfolded in three distinct chapters, each rooted in Irish cultural history and storytelling.
Tír na nÓg
The opening act drew on the Celtic myth of eternal youth alongside Jack B. Yeats’ 1936 painting Tír na nÓg, exploring the idea of clothing as something immortal, garments loved, lived in and reimagined.
Shearlings, tinsel tweeds and patchworked florals were layered with embroidered lace and tapestry references, echoing Rocha’s own archive. The palette moved through peat green, aged ivory, asphalt grey and metallic glints.
Pony Kid
Act two shifted to 1990s Dublin, inspired by Perry Ogden’s photographs of young pony traders in Smithfield. Here, masculinity met femininity in Rocha’s signature way. Sliced knits, lace boiler suits and exaggerated faux-fur bustles created deliberate collisions between ceremony and sportswear.
This moment marked the runway debut of Rocha’s collaboration with Adidas Originals. Given rare creative freedom, she reworked the iconic three stripes, and even the logo itself, layering rosettes, sheer detailing and ruffles across tracksuits, trainers, jewellery and accessories, all reimagined through her distinctly romantic lens.
Weird Sisters
The final act paid tribute to Elizabeth and Lily Yeats, central figures of Ireland’s Arts and Crafts movement and sisters of Jack B. Yeats, referenced as the “weird sisters” in Ulysses by James Joyce.
Their legacy of craftsmanship and cultural independence informed a dramatic closing sequence. Hand-cut lace was pierced and reassembled. Bridled hardware and dressage-inspired ribbons nodded to equestrian traditions. Silk taffeta prize-ribbon gowns swelled into sculptural silhouettes.
As WWD observed, Rocha “took youth, real and imaginary, gilded, and not, as inspiration for fall, with a show at the hilltop Victorian-era Alexandra Palace with its sweeping views of London, and beyond.”
Speaking to Vogue, Rocha said the ruffled, rosette-dotted collection “had to be shown at one of London’s highest points,” loving the idea of guests congregating after a procession up the hill.
Romantic and rebellious, rooted in Irish artistry and unmistakably contemporary, it was a privilege to welcome Simone Rocha back to Alexandra Palace Theatre and to see her vision unfold here once again.
