Irish actor Fiona Shaw made a surprise appearance at London Fashion Week on Sunday (23 February), walking the catwalk as part of Simone Rocha’s new showcase.

The Irish designer, 38, was showcasing her autumn/winter 2025 collection at Goldsmith’s Hall as part of London Fashion Week.

Rocha, whose father is the Chinese-Irish designer John Rocha, has previously made collections for H&M.

At London Fashion Week 2024, she presented a show at the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great in February, which featured cuddly toys. In the September collection

Shaw, 66, is best known for her roles in TV shows like Bad Sisters and Killing Eve as well as the Harry Potter film series, where she played Petunia Dursley.

She was a surprise guest on the catwalk, appearing alongside fellow actors Andrea Riseborough, Bel Powley and model Alexa Chung. Those in attendance included Pixie Geldof and Josephine de la Baume.

Shaw wore a black short-sleeved dress adorned with silver chains while walking with her hands in the garment’s pockets. According to the show notes, the theme of the collection is “School Days” and “The Tortoise And The Hare” fable.

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Shaw, who appeared in True Detective: Night Country in 2024, spoke to The Independent in December, where she said: “I’d got a bit fed up of acting, fed up of my own acting,” she tells me. “I began to wonder: have I had enough? Do I need a sabbatical?”

Before Killing Eve, Shaw had pivoted to directing operas while avoiding the stage herself. “You don’t know you’re taking a break,” she explained. “You just think, maybe I’ll pause for a minute and think about what I’ll do next. But you find years have gone by and you haven’t done any other plays.” Then along came Killing Eve and the role of Carolyn Martens.

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In the acclaimed Star Wars spin-off Andor, she was given the opportunity to play two very different ages – both younger and older than herself – when portraying the protagonist’s mother, Maarva Andor, at different points in her life. The series, which follows Cassian Andor’s journey to rebellion as he becomes radicalised against the Galactic Empire, is, she says, an allegory for today’s political landscape. “The writing on that was spectacularly good and wonderfully stayed in the mythology of the universe – but actually, yes, it was entirely a mapping of what’s going on in our world.”

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