Twice a year in Florence, Pitti Uomo gathers a few hundred brands, a lot of buyers, and even more variations of the same tailored jacket. Think less front row, more order sheets. Of course, each season carves out space for a guest designer or two to stage a runway moment that isn’t exactly built for wholesale. For its 110th edition this June, that slot goes to Simone Rocha, who will present her first standalone menswear show, running parallel to Kei Ninomiya.
This might be the first time Rocha’s runway only belongs to men, though her co-ed runs were never shy of company, at least since SS 23. Her menswear carries the same sense of romance and fragility she gives her womenswear, with lace, volume, drapes, softness, embroidery, and flowers, letting utility and tailoring play coy instead of bossing around. Rocha painted the picture for Vogue, “He’s into texture, craft, and conversation. He’s down to earth, and he’s also very comfortable with femininity. He’s interested in tradition but twisting it. We’ve been thinking a lot about who he is!”
The designer could have picked a postcard-perfect Florentine backdrop. Although the official location is yet to be announced, she didn’t. She wants her debut’s space a little out of place, a room that belongs to no city and winks at her own sensibilities. Maybe she’s just hinting, maybe not, but this show smells a lot like the opening act for a new menswear chapter. Rocha could very well be planting the seed for a regular, standalone men’s line, showing up on the seasonal radar, and making sure the boys finally get that full Rocha treatment.
