THE ROCHAS
PHILOSOPHY
ROCHAS VALUES
AUDACITY &
ELEGANCE
For Rochas, elegance is a question of style, not the latest trend. A modern, carefree elegance with a bold twist. In ready-to-wear fashion as in the perfumes, the creations have the ring of freedom.
Eau de Rochas
1
YOUNG
AT HEART
By the age of 23, Marcel Rochas was already running his own fashion house and building the wardrobe of young Parisian women: the famous “Canadian jacket”, the ubiquitous use of black and white, the beach pyjamas, the mixtures of materials and prints, the fresh and sporty looks. He would also be the first couturier to create jewellery and accessories under his own name. An aesthetic daring that won him kudos from the magazine Vogue Paris and the title “couturier de la jeunesse” – the couturier of youth. In 2021, 24-year old Charles de Vilmorin was appointed creative director of Rochas. The young designer has injected his style and singularity into the new ready-to-wear collections, reconciling heritage and modernity. A promising succession.
Charles de Vilmorin
2
THE SPIRIT
OF CELEBRATION
Rochas ready-to-wear and perfumes are energised by joy and strong emotions. Every day is a celebration. The unashamed pleasure of dressing up, for days as well as nights, of playing the codes of fashion to make them your own, of wearing a perfume that says bliss and optimism, loud and clear.
Girl
3
The Rochas essentials —
Ribbons
Ribbons and bows are part of the Rochas signature. Reinterpreted with each new collection, these accessories are slipped into the clothes, feature on all the perfume packaging and the Mademoiselle perfume.
The May rose
The rose is one of the symbols of Maison Rochas. In the 1920s, Marcel Rochas’ couture creations featured roses reinvented in a thousand ways. Emblematic of Grasse in south-eastern France, the May rose is characterised by its gentle, slightly spicy scent. They are picked by hand in May when the flowers have barely opened. Rochas has worked hand in hand with the region’s growers to develop a “custom” Centifolia rose for its Mademoiselle perfume.
Lace
Chantilly lace first made its appearance as a staple in the collections in 1943. The famous pale pink satin wasp-waisted basque – La Guêpière – is covered in black lace. Originally created by Marcel Rochas, the basque would be worn by Mae West, the famous actress of the Golden Age of Hollywood. A demonstration of boldness and sensuality that would inspire the couturier to add lace motifs to the packaging of his first perfumes, such as Femme.
Artistic
Direction
In 2021, Charles de Vilmorin, a recent graduate of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne joined the restricted circle of French fashion when he became artistic director of Rochas at the age of just 24. A gifted designer, with an instinctive and spontaneous vision of design and a passion for colour who created a sensation a few months earlier when he presented his first eponym capsule collection, inspired by the worlds of Niki de Saint Phalle, Chagall, Klimt and Odilon Redon. His talent impressed. Charles de Vilmorin was soon chosen as Guest Member of the Paris Haute Couture fashion week. The fashion world marvelled at his use of colours, supersized geometric shapes and his freshness and youth.
He will be presenting his first show as Artistic director of Maison Rochas, at the Paris Spring-Summer 2022 Fashion Week in September 2021.
Charles de Vilmorin
4
I am extremely honoured to be joining the Maison Rochas as Creative Director. Rochas is a brand that holds a special place in my heart, due to both deep personal family ties and the label’s heritage which I find so rich and inspiring. I can’t wait to bring my personal touch and reinterpret the codes of this beautiful Maison.
Charles de Vilmorin
