Rocco Ritchie made a rare and head-turning appearance in Rome this weekend, proving that style and artistic edge run deep in the Madonna-Guy Ritchie gene pool.
The 24-year-old artist and son of pop icon Madonna and filmmaker Guy Ritchie stepped into the spotlight at the glamorous “Orizzonti | Rosso” Exhibition Opening Dinner over the weekend debuting a bold new look: closely cropped, bright blond hair that perfectly framed his effortlessly cool vibe.
Dressed in a classic black suit layered over an open-collared white button-down shirt, Rocco put his own relaxed spin on formalwear. With a touch of stubble and silver bracelets and rings adorning his hands, he exuded an understated confidence that felt both curated and casual.
This chic Roman outing comes as Rocco continues to carve out his own path in the art world, far from the shadow of his famous family. Despite his lineage, he’s made it crystal clear: he’s not looking for shortcuts.
© Getty ImagesRocco on being a nepo baby
In the latest issue of Fantastic Man, Rocco opened up about the often-debated concept of “nepo babies” — children of celebrities perceived to benefit from their parents’ fame. He didn’t mince words: “I always think it’s funny that back in the day, some of the most beautiful cathedrals that were ever built would be built by generation after generation of the same family,” he reflected. “And now, if you are born from a family – and I’m not saying this is wrong – you start looking at nepo babies and they are not the most interesting bunch, are they?”
Technically a “nepo baby” himself, Rocco distances from the term, speaking about it as an outsider. His early artistic career was intentionally low-profile. He painted under the pseudonym “Rhed” to sidestep any assumptions and to earn credibility on his own terms.
© InstagramThat alias served him well. Since stepping into the art world, Rocco has held six exhibitions, including a well-received show in Paris with backing from Giorgio Armani. His work has caught the eyes of fashion heavyweights like Stella McCartney and Donatella Versace.
In 2023, Rocco shed the alias and embraced his real name for an exhibition in London curated by none other than David Dawson, longtime studio manager for Lucian Freud. It was a statement moment — one that said, “I’m ready to be seen.”
But the road there wasn’t smooth. Rocco enrolled at the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London, but left after just a year. A tutor criticized his early work for being “too masculine” — a comment that stuck with him.
“I think he was trying to say it was vulgar. And I didn’t think it was vulgar,” Rocco said. “I was 18, doing… figurative paintings; my work wasn’t even developed enough for anyone to have opinions on it back then.”
He found his true creative home at the Royal Drawing School in Shoreditch. “There, all my dreams came true,” he shared. “I just needed a school that would teach me to draw and paint. I signed up, went in and spent basically a year and a half, seven hours a day, just drawing. They didn’t ask for homework. You just shut up and draw.”
© InstagramRocco’s style
Rocco is known for his love of tweed and tailored three-piece suits, echoing the sartorial elegance of his father Guy. But he doesn’t hold back when it comes to critiquing the fashion choices of others.
“Menswear… I don’t even want to give that word the power it has,” he said candidly. “It’s so different from what it used to mean. I always see on Instagram people popping up and saying, ‘This is my outfit!’ First of all, who cares? Second of all, who am I to judge? But…”
He continued: “There’s a difference between someone walking in a room and you going, ‘Whoa, who’s this swaggerer over here?’ Or they walk in the room and you go, ‘What are you wearing?’ I feel like it’s a very thin line — a very not-distinct line. I mean, I don’t want to sound like a little s***, but most men do not dress well.”
He also mourned the decline of traditional British tailoring. “I think Savile Row is a dying situation. It’s really hard to sell in this day and age. It’s expensive and it takes a really long time. Do you really want to go and spend £5,000 on a suit that takes eight fittings and will be ready in a year?”
© InstagramRocco’s upbringing, though luxurious, wasn’t what most might expect. He recalls feeling more at home among London’s South Bank skateboarders than in elite social circles. “Straight away, I was like, this is the place. Best years of my life,” he recalled. “I mean, how much fun are upper-class people? Not that much fun.”
Madonna, 66, met Guy, 56, at a party hosted by Sting and Trudie Styler back in 1999. The couple married the following year, sharing eight years together before parting ways in 2008. In addition to Rocco, they are parents to David Banda, 19, whom they adopted from Malawi.
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