John Rocha has retired from London Fashion Week after being a part of the event for almost 30 years, sources confirmed.
John Rocha has been a regular at the London Fashion Week ever since he made his debut there in 1985. Now, 29 years down the line, the Hong Kong born fashion designer announced his retirement last week.
The announcement didn't come as a surprise as Rocha has been contemplating retirement for over a year now. According to him, he feels he's done and showcased the best of his works in the last few years. He now wants to live his life as per his own calendar and not that of the Fashion Week.
"If I stay, I want to have something to say and I always want to keep the standards high. The last couple of collections I looked back on and I thought to myself, 'that is really the best work I can do'," said Rocha, according to Vogue. "In the last few years I saw a lot of talented people and designers coming up and with so much young talent you have to work so much harder, and I'm not going to do it until I drop!"
The news follows his acclaimed autumn/winter collection that was showcased this February. The collection was touted to be among the designer's best works. He has also been elementary in bridging the gap between ready-to-wear and haute couture.
His use of handwork and intricate crochet, knit and appliqué brought a new look to the Irish heritage crafts and earned him innumerable awards including British Designer of the Year in 1993 and a CBE in 2002. His daughter Simone, a rising fashion star internationally, will however, continue the family tradition.
Born in Hong Kong of Chinese/Portuguese ancestry, Rocha came to London in the 1970s where he studied fashion and became interested in traditional handcrafts. He moved to Ireland in the 1980s and made it his home ever since. There, he extended his design portfolio to crystal, jewellery, architecture and interiors while working in Ireland, the UK, France and Hungary. He opened his flagship store in Mayfair in 2007.
"It has been an amazing journey for me, one for which I am truly grateful, grateful for the opportunity to present my vision and to follow my dreams," said the Ireland-based designer, according to ELLE magazine. "But, now it is time for me to explore new challenges. And so, I have decided that from September, I will no longer present a collection at the London Fashion Week, and that even though I am so happy with the wonderful response to my AW14 collection, sadly it will be my last."
This doesn't mean Rocha won't be designing at all. Instead of designing Spring and Autumn collection, he will now shift his focus to existing collaborations with Debenhams, Waterford Crystal and Specsavers. The designer also plans on trying his hands on some new projects in architecture and interiors.
