Duke of Albemarle, Mayfair, W1 (2711100291)

John Rocha

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 23 August 1953) is a Chinese-Irish designer born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. He is based in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Biography

He moved to Ireland after graduating from the

Croydon School of Art Croydon College is a large further and higher education college located in Croydon, within the London Borough of Croydon. Its origins can be traced to a School of Art that was established in 1868, which subsequently merged with Croydon Polytechnic ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Known for his hand-crafting, beading and appliquée to garments, Rocha first established a name for himself with his ''Chinatown'' label in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in the 1980s and later designing clothing for both men and women in the Irish high street stores

A Wear A Wear was an Irish chain of women's clothing stores with a wide number of operations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The brand also operated internationally through its online store at awear.com and stores within the United Kingd ...

and their luxury stores

Brown Thomas Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of five Irish department stores, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Dundrum Town Centre. Part of the Selfridges Group, Brown Thomas is an upmarket chain, akin to Britain's Selfridges stores ...

. Rocha designed a range of cut crystal stemware and vases for

Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the i ...

in collaboration with glass designer

Marcus Notley Marcus Notley (born 1 June 1973) is an Irish product designer specializing in designing consumer products for the home. He designed Ireland's largest crystal chandelier for the Merchant Hotel in Belfast.McCall, Barr"Design For Success"''Th ...

, until that firm's closure in 2008. The brand relaunched in 2010 and Rocha's crystal product ranges became available again. By 1993, he was named Designer of the Year at the

British Fashion Awards The Fashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contribu ...

. Rocha runs his own "John Rocha", "John Rocha Jeans", " Rocha John Rocha" and "John Rocha Jewellery" labels alongside a diffusion clothing, homewear and accessories label for the department store

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

. Rocha has also designed the interiors of the Morrison Hotel in

and the Orion Building in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. He was awarded the 'Special Award' at the Ernst and Young Irish Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2008 which took place in the City West Hotel in Dublin on 23 October 2008. Rocha continues to produce a 'pret-a-porter' womenswear and menswear range which he showcases twice annually at the British Fashion Council sponsored London Fashion Week (February & September). His John Rocha lifestyle boutique opened on Dover Street, London, in 2006. His design business, operating as Three Moon Design, is located at Dublin's Ely Place with a turnover of €200 million per year Rocha was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 2002 for his contributions to the British fashion industry. In 2014 Rocha showcased another Spring/Summer collection at

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

and announced his retirement from the event, stating that ''At this point in my life I want to live by my calendar and not the Fashion Week calendar. Stopping allows me to do that''. In April 2015 he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Art & Design at

The Asian Awards The Asian Awards is an annual award ceremony for the global Asian community which takes place in the United Kingdom, with 14 categories that include business, philanthropy, entertainment, culture and sport. Nominees are selected by an independen ...

Personal life

Rocha resides in Dublin with his wife. The Rocha family keep a second home in St. Jean Cap-Ferrat in

southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

. His daughter

Simone Rocha Simone Rocha (born 1986) is an Irish fashion designer. She is the daughter of fashion designer John Rocha, and trained at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and at Central Saint Martins, London. She launched her graduate collection ...

is also a successful designer.

In popular culture

In 2010 Rocha was one of six contemporary, internationally renowned Irish fashion designers featured on a set of

Irish postage stamps The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and ...

issued by

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...

. The other designers featured were

Paul Costelloe Paul Costelloe (born 23 June 1945) is an Irish designer and artist. In popular culture In 2010, Costelloe was one of six contemporary and internationally renowned Irish fashion designers featured on a set of Irish postage stamps issued by An ...

Louise Kennedy Louise Kennedy is an Irish fashion designer and businesswoman who, in 2013, was called the "uncrowned queen of Irish fashion". Career Kennedy studied at the College of Marketing and Design, now part of Dublin Institute of Technology and the G ...

, Lainey Keogh,

Philip Treacy Philip Anthony Treacy (born 26 May 1967) is an Irish haute couture milliner, or hat designer, who has been mostly based in London for his career, and who was described by ''Vogue'' magazine as "perhaps the greatest living milliner". In 2000, T ...

and

Orla Kiely Orla Kiely, OBE (born 1963) is an Irish fashion designer based in London. She began her career designing hats, and moved on to design work on handbags and a variety of other items including kitchenware and cars. She received a master's degree ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocha, John 1953 births Living people Macanese people Chinese expatriates in Ireland Dinnerware designers Alumni of Croydon College Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Biography

Personal life

In popular culture

See also

References

External links