The Tamesis
For Adwoa Aboah, the stakes are especially high for attending the 2026 Met Gala. After all, a lot has changed in the model, activist, actor and entrepreneur’s life since she last attended the event in 2024. She’s now a mom (she’s even openly flashed her baby bump on the red carpet) and a proud businesswoman, launching her instantly viral luxury brand The Veil late last year.
Understandably, communicating this new phase in her life to the world and having full agency was a priority. For Aboah and stylist Malina Joseph Gilchrist, there was only one name in mind that could help her achieve this goal: Simone Rocha. Adwoa has a long-standing relationship with the London-based Irish designer, first walking in her show more than a decade ago.
“It’s such an honor to be working with Simone on this year’s Met look,” said Aboah. “She has supported me from the very beginning of my career and I have been a long-term admirer and avid purchaser of her brand – she is a true visionary and a dear friend, which makes wearing one of her incredible designs to the Met feel even more personal.”
This sentiment was immediately echoed by Rocha. “It’s a no-brainer,” the designer said. “She’s a really great girl – she’s been on a few of my shows and the way she feels, thinks, reads and brings people together is so real. That’s what she’s done through her work on Gurls Talk and now has a great acting career as well, but every step she takes feels so real. When she asked, I said I’d love to do it.”
Given Rocha’s inherent connection to the art world—through her inspiration from Pina Bausch and Louise Bourgeois, as well as past collaborations with Genieve Figgis and Faye Wei Wei—you might expect the pair to develop a conceptual approach to a “fashion is art” dress code. Yet the opposite was true: “I really felt like I didn’t want to dress her up as something untouchable, like a piece of art,” Rocha said. “I wanted it to feel like something she would wear, but have the unique feel of a one-off dress.”
Consisting of a structured bodice in lace appliqué canvas embroidered with delicate Florentine silver and enamel poppies and fastened to a tulle lingerie, the strapless column gown strikes the perfect balance between statuesque glamor and an almost delicate fragility. Under the wings, metal perforations are combined with lace panels, a development in technology that debuted at Rocha’s Fall 2026 show. “Adwoa likes the idea of vulnerability and hardness at the same time,” she explains. “We wanted to have this real juxtaposition of materials—strength and luster with more earthy, fragile materials like lace and tulle.”
