Style

H&M’s New Designer Collab Is The Prettiest Yet

London-based designer Simone Rocha’s collection is dripping in pearls and dropping in March.

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Amy Gwatkin/H&M

Wallpaper florals, idiosyncratic embellishments, supersized collars, the perspex-heeled brogues, and hairbands dripping in pearls: these are but a few of the Simone Rocha signatures that have won her a cult and celebrity following. Now, the London-based fashion darling has teamed up with H&M to bring her designs to the high street. Yes, Simone Rocha x H&M is coming.

When? Not nearly soon enough. But soon: March 11, to be exact. And what can we expect? A best hits collection of sorts. Think delicate tulle dresses, tartan tailoring, beaded shirting, sumptuous cable knits, classic outerwear, and plenty of those sparkling, pearl-encrusted accessories. (My money's on that pearl-embellished trench coat to sell out immediately.)

“It was really emotional going through all the pieces,” Rocha said of going through her archive to create the H&M collection. “It was a wonderful chance to reflect on seasons I was especially proud of, and to revisit collections that felt like milestones, and little gems of ideas that we maybe didn't push as far as we wanted to the first-time round.” The collaboration coincides with her brand’s 10th anniversary.

“The archive is so important to the way I work as a designer anyway,” she added. “We are not a brand that abandons ideas each season — we often look back on past propositions or continue to evolve a silhouette, or shape.”

Rocha joins the ranks of the prestigious designers to collaborate with the Swedish powerhouse, among them Karl Lagerfeld, Comme des Garçons, Maison Margiela, Erdem, and Versace. Last year, the Vampire's Wife created a popular collection for the high street retailer. Like those who came before her, Rocha is not only opening up her archive, she is also expanding her fashion world to include menswear and childrenswear – firsts for the Dublin-born designer.

Topping off the excellent news, there’s also a dreamy shoot by and featuring all of Rocha’s friends. Among them Daisy Edgar-Jones, Tess McMillan, Kelsey Lu, Francesca Hayward, Micheal Ward, and sisters Adwoa and Kesewa Aboah. (Shot by her other friends, Tyler Mitchell and styled by Robbie Spencer, no less.) If you don’t buy into her designs, the snaps will feature nicely on mood boards for post-lockdown life.

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