Simone Rocha is the next guest designer at Pitti Uomo. The designer will present the first full menswear collection of her eponymous label at the 110th Pitti Immagine Uomo, the Florentine trade fair organizer announced on Wednesday.
So far, Rocha has only presented her menswear as part of her womenswear shows. Four years ago she showed her first-ever menswear look at Paris Fashion Week, and just last month she presented her latest fall ’26 menswear collection at the London womenswear show. There she also debuted a significant new collaboration with Adidas. In Florence, however, the focus is now entirely on menswear.
“From the very beginning, Simone Rocha’s dresses attract attention, inspire the imagination and arouse emotions,” says Francesca Tacconi, Special Events Coordinator at Pitti Immagine. “At a time when parts of men’s fashion are reticent, Simone Rocha remains true to her own vision. Her work is a reflection of her personal roots – Ireland, Hong Kong, art, family.”
The designer’s designs usually take her audience into a sensual, almost narrative world in which past and present merge in an impressive way. Their design language acts like a dialogue between romantic history and modern dynamics – somewhere between Gothic storytelling and contemporary sportswear, according to Pitti Immagine. The looks consciously transcend classic style boundaries and play with eras, proportions and gender codes. How this vision will impact menswear will be seen between June 16th and 19th, when the latest edition of the menswear fair takes place.
With this appearance, Rocha will join a prestigious line-up of guest designers who have previously made Pitti Uomo their temporary stage, including Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Martine Rose, Glenn Martens with Y/Project, Fendi and Virgil Abloh with Off-White. At the January edition of the fair, designers such as Satoshi Kuwata, founder and creative director of the Setchu brand, as well as Hed Mayner and Soshi Otsuki walked the catwalk in Florence.