Sandra‘s Closet

Pony Kids and Petticoats: Simone Rocha’s F/W 26 Love Letter to Ireland

High above London, inside the faded grandeur of the Alexandra Palace Theatre, Simone Rocha sent out one of the most poetic collections of the season. The Victorian venue, left in a state of beautiful arrested decay, was the perfect stage for what the Irish designer does best: romance cut through with reality.

For F/W 2026, Rocha turned her gaze homeward. The collection unfolded in three chapters rooted in Irish culture. The first act conjured Tír na nÓg, the mythical Celtic land of eternal youth, painted in moss green, olive and deep ruby, with a voluminous satin gown cinched at the waist that felt like folklore made fabric.

The final act celebrated the Weird Sisters, the eccentric siblings of the Yeats family who shaped the Irish Arts and Crafts movement, honoured through rich tapestry prints and tweeds that felt loved and lived in.

But it was the middle chapter that gave the collection its heartbeat: Pony Kid. Rocha drew on Perry Ogden’s cult 1999 photo book Pony Kids, which documented the working class children of Dublin, from both Traveller and Settled communities, who kept and traded horses at the Smithfield Horse Fair. Ogden captured them in the sportswear of the era, tracksuits and trainers worn with a fierce, tender pride. Together with Mike Newell’s 1992 film Into the West, these images of Irish kids and their ponies became the emotional core of the show.

The new Pony Kids collection by Simone Rocha is available now here.

This reference also unlocked the season’s big surprise: Simone Rocha’s debut collaboration with adidas originals, woven directly into the mainline rather than presented as a separate capsule. The designer, who spent her own teenage years wearing adidas running shorts under vintage tutus, made the pairing feel completely natural. Track jackets came with pouf sleeves and her signature pearl zipper pulls, tracksuits erupted in ruffles and scalloped edges, sporty knee high socks were bedazzled with trefoil logos, and a picot edged dress in ivory paper nylon carried a Rocha redesigned trefoil. Lace boiler suits and frills on your tracksuit, as she put it herself.

Of course, the Rocha girl was never far away. Corsages and ribbons trailed from masculine coats, equestrian prize ribbons were pinned to tailored trousers, and hints of vintage lingerie flashed beneath sheer layers. A moss green gown with an oversized bow, a curvy ruby sequin dress with a matching cap and shearling lined aviator jackets in olive grounded the fantasy in wearable, statement making reality.

What I love most about this collection is its emotional intelligence. Rocha took the myth of eternal youth and the very real, disappearing world of Dublin’s pony kids and stitched them into one wardrobe where a ballgown and a track jacket speak the same language. It is femininity with grit, nostalgia without sentimentality, and proof once again that Simone Rocha is one of the most compelling storytellers in fashion today.

The Adidas pieces will no doubt sell out in a heartbeat, but for me the true magic lies in the juxtaposition. Frills on a tracksuit have never looked so poetic.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Simone Rocha
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After the first drop in December 2019, Prada and adidas Originals unveil the second part of their collaboration and propose a timeless, eternal classic, reengineered for the now – the Superstar. Now retailing alone, the iconic Superstar style is offered in a trio of new colorways: monochrome black, white with black, and chrome silver with white. For a new decade, a new point of view.

This step of the ongoing collaboration between Prada and adidas emphasizes qualities shared by and synonymous with each: collaboration, innate respect for heritage, a passion for sport. Craftsmanship is at the heart of the Prada Superstar sneaker – executed by Prada’s footwear specialists, fusing the lexicon of luxury with the language of high-performance sportswear in a style of shoe that has always been, in and of itself, unique and groundbreaking.

The streamlined silhouette of the adidas Originals Superstar sneaker – an inherently modern, entirely unisex design, first created in 1969 – is translated into full-grain leather. Its origins – Made in Italy – are heat-stamped into the side, a marker of superlative quality appreciated around the world, alongside the dual logos of Prada and adidas Originals, which appear together on the tongue of every pair. The fundamental character of the Superstar remains unchanged: it is a style icon, a timeless item which does not call for re-design, but rather provokes reconsideration.

The importance of handiwork and of craft, over everything, is underscored in the campaign, a fantastical, surreal reimagining of the actual process of creation of the Prada Superstar. Toying with scale through a miniature recreation of Prada’s manufacturing spaces in Le Marche region, the viewer can observe the final painstaking touches being made to each new colorway. The Superstar here is super-scale – this interplay of proportions magnifies and emphasizes the instantly-recognizable features of the Superstar – the triple-stripe, trefoil, and rubber shell toe – as well as the addition of the dual Prada and adidas Originals logos.

The new Prada Superstar will launch starting from 8 September 2020, via Prada boutiques and adidas flagship stores worldwide, alongside selected wholesalers. The range is also available via prada.com and adidas.com.

The partnership of Prada and adidas will develop and flourish. The next facet of this collaboration is linked to the America’s Cup – an expression of a mutual love for and enthusiastic participation in the arena of sport by both Prada and adidas.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Prada #Pradaforadidas

For S/S 2020, adidas Originals teams up with one of the hottest rising stars in the global fashion scene, China’s very own Angel Chen.
Comprised of four new footwear styles, each available in two colorways, this capsule collection channels a sophisticated yet eye-catching aesthetic capturing Chen’s unmistakable way through bold and colorful graphics.

Angel Chen

Angel Chen is quickly becoming one of the brightest creative talents to emerge from China’s nascent fashion scene. The name behind the brand, Angel Chen, moved to London at the age of 17 to study at the prestigious Central Saint Martin’s College of Arts and Design.

During her placement year, she interned for Marchesa, Vera Wang and Alexander Wang in New York. Following her graduate collection in 2014, Chen was chosen by i-D as one of five designers-to-watch and launched her eponymous label the following year. She listed within BOF 500 in 2017, secured a finalist position with the renowned Woolmark Prize in 2018 and participated and placed 4th in Netflix’s Next in Fashion in 2019.

Angel Chen’s colorful approach to fashion coupled with a core-concept of fusion of Eastern
and Western aesthetics has made it a noticeable bright young label. This remains the case with each new collection she puts out under the eponymous brand founded in 2014, which she describes as «innovative, colorful, unrestrained and expressive.»

These four words could equally be applied to Angel Chen’s first team up with adidas, which takes the form of four new footwear styles. Each is presented in two colorways and, in their brightly playful execution, channel the mood and look of 80s and 90s fashion.

The capsule collection draws inspiration from Chinese calligraphy while celebrating China’s successes and cultural reasonance in sports such as Ping Pong, Kungfu and Diving. Each bold style features colourful contemporary graphics and exaggerated silhouettes.

Angel‘s newly gained international recognition resulted in highly anticipated commercial
collaborations for Angel Chen with H&M and M.A.C.; and most recently with adidas Originals. Stocked internationally at 70 retailers, including Bergdorf Goodman, Selfridges, Lane Crawford, Net-A-Porter and Galeries Lafayette, Angel Chen is part of a new wave of young brands
making an impact globally.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © adidas Originals
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During London Fashion Week, adidas Originals has unveiled its third collaboration with an emerging female fashion designer. This time, the brand has teamed up with Ji Won Choi for a 17-piece women’s ready-to-wear collection that his inspired by her Korean heritage. She revamped adidas’ classic tracksuit with hues of lavender, blue, red, green and pink. The brand’s three stripes were also used in more parts of the garments, creating a sense of movement.

One to watch: upcoming Korean designer Ji Won Choi

Born in Seoul, raised in the Midwest USA, educated in New York City and Paris, and having worked in Milan, Ji Won Choi’s work revolves around investigating human cultures and using design to promote positive change within societies. Her thesis collection, EXCESSIVISM, was the winner of Kering Empowering Imagination Award and several other contests as well as featured in various international publications such as Forbes, WWD and Vogue. Her work has been displayed at Bergdorf Goodman in New York and at New York Textile Month. In 2017, she was awarded the «Ones to Watch» Award by Fashion Scout.

I am sure we will se a lot more of Ji Won Choi’s talent in the near future…
TO SHOP ADIDAS ORIGINALS BY JI WON CHOI, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of adidas Originals