London-based 27-year-old designer Simone Rocha (right) talks about the people and places that inspire her and how her family are an integral part of what she does.
"My dad was born in Hong Kong, so half my family are here - my granny and grandad and seven aunties and uncles. I grew up in Ireland but I'm half Irish, half Chinese so this is like my second home."
"For me, growing up, it felt like it was just a part of our lives. I grew up in the studio, working away when I was a kid and then a teenager, so it was a huge help to be in that environment. It felt normal to be in a pattern room, or learning to sow or knit, or doing fashion shows. But like anybody who goes into an industry that their family is in, the expectation level … [My dad] always said it's all about the work and the work will speak for itself."
"I want it to feel fresh and exciting, but I also want people to relate to the femininity in it. Things that are really important to me are contrasts, whether it's fabrication or silhouettes. It's really about taking those elements and coming to this kind of femininity, but [one that is] modern and has a sort of strength to it."
"I came to Hong Kong last year - I was visiting my granny - and I started thinking about her and looking at old photos of her and her style. [The collection is] actually a little ode to her, my Chinese granny, and my Irish granny as well. So [my autumn-winter range] was a mash-up and called Respect Your Elders. My Chinese granny was very feminine, a real lady, very neat. My Irish granny is a real tomboy, so it was about taking the masculinity and the femininity and pushing that forward."