They say that inspiration can come from the strangest of places, and Simone Rocha's appraisal of Hong Kong style is certainly testament to this.  In a beautifully shot short film for Nowness.com, the Irish designer travelled back to the birthplace of her father, John Rocha, to sing her appreciation for the innate, unpretentious style of Hong Kong's elderly females – from their delightfully mismatched fabrics and intricate patterns to their unabashedly gleeful use of colour, an aesthetic that more often mocked than admired.

Watching the film, directed by Linda Brownlee, it's hard not to feel endeared by the women and the threads they so proudly wear – from the lady with the abstract pattern blouse and frilly cream hat throwing a peace sign to the woman with a denim throwover decorated with dragonflies.

It's not the first time Rocha has been inspired by the demographic, having crafted an entire collection (Respect Your Elders) based on her own grandmother's confident sense of style. "Instilled in them is this sense of pride of how you look, and how you present yourself," she intones in the video. "There's a real practicality, there's very little peacocking.

"There's just something very poetic about the way they dress." 

The underlying message from Rocha seems to be that style comes from within, something that is well worth remembering. Watch the film below and be inspired: