Dreamy. Weightless. The Rochas Autumn/Winter 2015 collection is saturated with soft severity. The heroine is fully in control, although she has a tendency to give in to the temptation of fleeting thrills and is always ready to indulge in the pleasure of eccentricity. Alessandro Dell’Acqua opts for an assertively dark expression where sensuously precise cuts reveal the exquisite splendor of materials.
With very slightly emphasized shoulders and a nipped-in waist, the soft, vertical shapes slightly flare at the bottom and end at the calf. Warrior-style coats top crewneck dresses. Military uniform-style shirts reveal a bourgeois, feminine spirit, fastened with little bows in the same wool from which the skirts are cut. Dresses are held up by straps and sculpted with flounces along the cleavage in tribute to a classic shape by Marcel Rochas for the 90th anniversary of the brand. Another excerpt from the archives, the pattern of a swallow in flight, is reinvented in the form of thick embroidery along belts, tops and little bomber jackets, and appears as a print on plain dresses.
A diversity of materials creates contrast to enhance the streamlined purity of the pieces: cashmere meets satin on dresses and skirts while various types of embroidery and jacquard embellish tops and coats. Feather-light tulle is layered with tweed or paired with cashmere in brassieres of a nostalgic sensuousness while fur pockets are affixed to wrap around coats. Full-bodied materials appear surprisingly weightless: double-faced cashmere, boiled cashmere, duchesse satin and silk jacquard reveal their buoyancy. The natural color scheme reserves a few departures: shades of army green, ebony, black and bordeaux are peppered with yolk yellow and sky blue.
Accessories underline the collection’s starkness with an uninhibited eccentricity, such as pumps with a finely embroidered ankle strap, heels in fur, or oversized sunglasses with lingerie elastic.