He moved to Ireland after graduating from the Croydon School of Art, London. Known for his hand-crafting, beading and appliquée to garments, Rocha first established a name for himself with his "Chinatown" label in Dublin in the 1980s and later designing clothing for both men and women in the Irish high street stores A Wear and their luxury stores Brown Thomas. Rocha designed a range of cut crystal stemware and vases for Waterford Crystal in collaboration with glass designer Marcus Notley, until that firm's closure in 2008. The brand relaunched in 2010 and Rocha's crystal product ranges became available again.