Simone Rocha SS16 show report London Fashion Week

Simone Rocha was playing with textures for SS16. Plastic cording had been woven — like loom bands — into bodices over feather-light tulle, while the lowly jelly shoe had been elevated from its beachside shuffle, resoled and studded with diamanté.

In only five years, the 29-year-old, who lately opened a flagship store on Mount Street, has become a rightly celebrated designer, beloved of the avant guardists (who adore her wicked sense of subversion and exaggerated silhouettes), and women who appreciate a flattering cut, statement coat and sensible hem length. Here again, she married awkward textural juxtapositions with ease: a pretty kimono tulle tea dress was tied up in transparent cable; tobacco sponge trousers were teamed with white embroidered plastic: a daisy jacquard was given extra welly with a heavy patent brogue. The tensions were cleverly tempered — all tied up in the rope motifs that ran throughout. And there were moments of sublime simplicity: silk gowns in nude and black, with a dropped, gathered shoulder and open back, stood out.

“I saw a bride in a bamboo forest,” said Rocha’s show notes. And there was a clutch of delicate white dresses befitting of a church service. Is Rocha getting into wedding gowns more seriously? I hope so. How brave and brilliant a Rocha-wearing bride would be.

For more reports from the shows, go to our fashion weeks page on the FT web app, or visit our London Collections Women SS16 fashion weeks hub on FT.com

Photographs: Catwalking.com