PARIS — So much thinking has been done about the long piece of ribbon tied into a knot that we call the bow.
But maybe no one has found more profundity in its sweet, silky curves than fashion designer Simone Rocha. In her hands, the bow is no mere adornment. It is a way to gather fabric and a way to reveal the nude skin underneath, pulling between modesty and lasciviousness. It is the cinch of a bungee cord that tightens a functional field jacket in the palest, saccharine pink. It is ornament — a cutesy middle finger on a military bag — and structural, as in the case of a red satin top that is simply an enormous bow. After the birth of her first child in 2015, Rocha made bright-red beaded jewelry that evoked blood, an idea she has evolved into long red bow earrings sold in stores. Bows as postpartum blood: This is not your workaday coquette’s embellishment!
