What if Simone Rocha came on at Chanel
Think: pearls, bows, lace, glam tomboy silhouettes, and ethereally-cool girly-girl core.
In early-June of this year, it was announced that Virginia Viard would be leaving Chanel, the fashion house to which she’s devoted 30 years of service. The announcement marked an abrupt end to her five-year tenure as Creative Director, a position she had naturally inherited from Karl Lagerfeld following his death in 2019. On the question of natural inheritance, Viard had been Lagerfeld’s number two and his “right and left arm” for decades; making it a no-brainer to guarantee a smooth transition at the time.
Lagerfeld was the Creative Director at Chanel for 36 years (1983-2019) and, as might have been clear from the theme of the 2023 Met Gala “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” (otherwise known as the year of the Jared Leto & Doja Cat cat costumes), his legacy at Chanel has shaped much of the iconic house codes and creative direction that we have come to expect from the brand today.
In contrast to her predecessor’s ability to steer the ship without compromising on design creativity, Viard’s reign at Chanel was consistently yawn-worthy, dated, and lacklustre.
Thus, the news of her brusque departure was greeted with fanfare. In its wake, a torrent of theories, suggestions, and conversations flooded fashion spheres, leaving each with their own take on who should be the next creative mastermind behind the luxury giant. And, a giant it is. Last year, Chanel reported sales of $19.7 billion. In conjunction with the house’s legacy and industry relevance, these numbers render the new Creative Director appointment ‘the most important hire in fashion of the past 40 years’ according to The Cut’s Cathy Horyn.
So, context well and truly established, I am here to throw my hat into the ring with a candidate of my own.
Here is where I admit to self-sabotaging any sense of mystery I might have been able to muster by having click-baitingly outed my brainwave of a theory in the article title. So, frill-less and efficient, I am here to volunteer Simone Rocha as tribute.
For anyone not in the know, let me enlighten you. Simone Cecilia Ming Ming Rocha is a 37-year-old Chinese-Irish fashion designer who is largely credited for the craze of bowmania, and whose rich portfolio is steeped in a deep appreciation of poetic constructions, stunning silhouettes, and baroque embellishments. While she is by no means a newcomer to the industry, Rocha’s commercial success has been more recent due to how well her designs appeal to Gen-Z and younger millenials who represent the demanding new face of luxury consumers.
As if you could need proof of the potential for this creative collaboration, but if you do, look no further than the SS24 Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week where we saw Simone Rocha design a collection for Jean-Paul Gaultier. Not only did she do the fashion houses creative justice by creating a collection that harmoniously captured the best of both, but the show itself was also one of the most highly anticipated and well received collections of the season.
When it comes to Rocha at Chanel, there is similar synergistic potential. From the shared house codes and references to the common colour palette and affinity for pearls and detailed embellishments, not to mention the mutual investment in bow-mania and love for a wedding dress on the runway, Simone Rocha at Chanel is not a far throw from a match made in heaven.
What’s more, Rocha’s relationship to silhouettes, subtlety, and sexiness parallels that of Gabrielle Chanel herself. In the words of Luke Meagher, “Simone Rocha’s work, to me, has never really been very strict, confining, or stereotypically sexy. It’s never been something that’s in your face saying ‘a woman should look like this’. Rather, Simone has always utilized proportions and silhouettes in a way where she allows things to be sexy, intriguing, and intelligent all at once.” Très français et très Chanel, à mon avis!
Picture it: the classic girly girl [Chanel] meets the cool girly girl [Simone Rocha]. After a stale few years of monotonous fashion shows and collections, the conservative French fashion house is in desperate need of a refreshing breath of creative and commercial diversity.
Bringing Simone Rocha into Chanel would inject the fashion house with some much-needed youthful energy, bring it down a peg on the pretentiousness scale, and ramp up the desirability and relatability factors. Can you imagine the ethereal beauty and glam coolness? The exceptional design and creative savoir faire?
In short: Chanel needs a shake-up. And I posit that such a shake-up should be no other than bringing the ultra-talented Simone Rocha on as Chanel’s new Creative Director.
What are your thoughts?? If not Simone Rocha, who would you place in the most coveted seat in fashion? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, I’m so ready to discuss xxx
Absolutely love this article and totally agree. Maybe you should just call the Chanel hotline up & let them know about your brilliant idea!! LOL I wish such a hotline existed 🙃
wait i agree with this wholeheartedly, she would be such a good pick