John Rocha

John Rocha

John Rocha is retiring from London Fashion Week.

The designer has announced he will no longer show his collections at the bi-annual event because he feels he has already reached the pinnacle of his career and wants to make way for emerging talent.

He told Vogue.co.uk: "If I stay, I want to have something to say and I always want to keep the standard high. The last couple of collections I looked back on and I thought to myself, 'That is really the best work I can do'.

"For the last few years I can see lots of talented people and designers coming up and with so much young talent you have to work so much harder, and I'm not going to do it until I drop!"

The fashion maven - who first showed at LFW in 1985 - also revealed his difficult decision to bring his main line to an end came from wanting to spend more time with his family, including his wife and business partner Odette.

John explained to the website: "People ask me why, and it's because I want to do more with my time. I left Hong Kong in 1971 and I have never been back to spend Chinese New Year with my family because it always falls in February during the shows. In 40 years I have never taken more than ten days holiday at once.

"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. It's not an overnight decision, Odette and I have been talking about it for some time."

This doesn't mean the end for the 60-year-old star's eponymous company, however. John intends to focus on the licensing side of the business until he retires from the industry altogether.

He said: "I can tell you every element of every single look from each collection - one to 30 - without looking at a picture - my label is all done by me. When I stop nobody could take over - I've made that decision."

The Dublin-based designer will restructure his office going forward to avoid job losses and explore his design aesthetic via different mediums, including architecture.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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