Pitti Uomo: Simone Rocha to debut standalone menswear collection as guest designer

Simone Rocha is the next guest designer at Pitti Uomo. The designer will present the first complete menswear collection for her eponymous label at the 110th edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo, the Florentine trade fair organiser announced on Wednesday.

Until now, Rocha has exclusively presented her menswear as part of her womenswear shows. Four years ago, she showed her very first menswear look at Paris Fashion Week. Just last month, she presented her latest menswear collection for autumn '26 within her London womenswear show, where she also debuted a major new collaboration with Adidas. In Florence, however, the focus will be entirely on menswear.

“From the very beginning, Simone Rocha's clothes have caught the eye, fired the imagination and aroused emotions,” said Francesca Tacconi, special events coordinator at Pitti Immagine. “At a time when parts of menswear are practising restraint, Simone Rocha remains true to her own vision. Her work is a reflection of her personal roots – Ireland, Hong Kong, art, and family.”

The designer's creations usually transport her audience into a sensual, almost narrative world where past and present merge impressively. Her design language acts as a dialogue between romantic history and modern dynamism, somewhere between gothic narrative and contemporary sportswear, according to Pitti Immagine. The looks deliberately transcend classic stylistic boundaries, playing with eras, proportions and gender codes. How this vision will translate to menswear will be revealed between June 16 and 19, when the latest edition of the menswear trade fair takes place.

With this appearance, Rocha will join a prestigious line-up of guest designers who have previously used Pitti Uomo as their temporary stage, including Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Martine Rose, Glenn Martens with Y/Project, Fendi and Virgil Abloh with Off-White. At the January edition of the trade fair, designers such as Satoshi Kuwata, founder and creative director of the brand Setchu, as well as Hed Mayner and Soshi Otsuki, took to the Florence runway.