ROCKY STAR stuns at London Fashion Week
On the 19th of February, ROCKY STAR showcased his Autumn/Winter 2024 collection at London Fashion Week.
The Indian designer, who has been putting on shows at London Fashion Week since 2016, showed off his latest collection Moonlight Enigma at St John’s Church in Hyde Park. STAR’s design philosophy “celebrates the grandeur of the past in the present with glamorous and edgy designs. Old world charm comes to life with a new-age magic in dramatic silhouettes, decorative prints, and intricate embroideries.”
STAR then, is known for his fusion between traditional Indian design, and Baroque and Gothic fashion, the influences of which were clearer than ever in the Moonlight Enigma collection. Many of the designs featured large shoulders, cinched waists, and a fuller skirt, indicative of the Baroque and Gothic, while others were a clear cross between traditional Indian and contemporary styles.
The show began with all-black designs, made interesting through the varying materials, textures, and silhouettes that STAR used. The combination of sheer materials and thicker, heavier fabrics highlighted the range and elegance of all-black and opened the show with pure style and sophistication. It was these opening pieces that were predominantly shaped by the elegant Baroque and Gothic silhouettes.
After this all-black opening to the show, a metallic palette began to feature strongly in the collection. This palette could have added a grungy feel to the collection, but STAR’s metallic designs were made opulent instead, with the inclusion of detailed embroidery that elevated the shine of the metallic materials and created a sense of grandeur.
As we were shown these extravagant designs, STAR began to introduce floral prints into the pieces. While it may be initially argued that the flowers add a softness to the hard metal palette, I believe that it alternatively demonstrates STAR’s conquering of both the natural and the man-made metal world. The floral patterns were rich in colour and contributed in equal strength as the metallic shimmer and dazzling embroidery to the overall sense of awe inspired in the audience.
Overall, the colour palette favoured by STAR in this collection consisted of metallic tones of black, brown, gold and silver. Far from simple, the designs were textually interesting and visually captivating as STAR utilised floral prints, intricate embroidery, tulle, and even feathers at one point, as accents against the base tones of the collection’s palette. St John’s Church also beautifully complimented the designs as the reredos provided a stunning backdrop and highlighted the collection well. There was such a sense of opulence and grandeur created from the marrying of the church with STAR’s designs that was utterly breathtaking and created an aura of dark intrigue.
Edited by Fashion Editor, Megan Shears
