For next spring/summer, his references came from Carrickmacross, a renowned centre for traditional lace-making, and the Irish-American abstract painter, Sean Scully.
Rocha used hand-knitted crochet, in black or cream, dipped in sugar and water to stiffen it, and then molded into shapes around the body, such as an hourglass dress, a spherical skirt, or a bell-shaped mini.
Laser-cut silks, chiffons and sheer tulles rippled like waves in shivering, shimmering tunics, dresses and long skirts to below-the-knee.
The patent shoes, however, were balanced on wooden wedge-platform soles which recalled the footwear worn by the market traders in the streets of Wanchai, in Hong Kong, but still adhered to the delicacy of Rocha’s vision, something which was carried through into the woodland-nymph headdresses.
Rocha’s other sure touches included cream trouser suits with jackets featuring lace side-panels; swing coats, embroidered with a gold heart motif; all-in-ones in a mix of tulle and lace, the trouser legs elasticized just above the ankle; and loosely-structured jackets, in black, with panelled peplums sitting atop one of those Carrickmacross-inspired lace bubble-skirts.
