Why designer Richard Quinn, watched by Queen Elizabeth and Anna Wintour at London Fashion Week, is staying grounded
Creative director of a big house? No way, says British designer who, despite being approached by many fashion labels wanting to harness his talent, is staying firmly focused on his own brand
The most talked-about moment of this year’s autumn-winter fashion shows didn’t come courtesy of a mega brand such as Gucci or Chanel – although the severed heads at the former’s show and the uprooted trees at the latter’s certainly made headlines. It belonged to a little-known designer based in Peckham, South London, who made his runway debut on the last day of London Fashion Week.
While most editors and buyers had already left for Milan, those who stayed were in for a big surprise as none other than Her Majesty the Queen attended the show to award Quinn the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. A photo of the monarch sitting next to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour went viral, turning the 28-year-old designer into an overnight sensation.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins, London-born Quinn, who apprenticed with designers Michael van der Ham and Christopher Shannon, grabbed the attention of critics and buyers with his slightly retro floral prints and oversized and layered garments worn by a cast of diverse models, some of them with their heads fully covered in patterned scarves.
Quinn operates from a two-floor, warehouse-like studio below railway tracks in a gritty part of Peckham, with neighbours including glass workers, car-repair shops and artists. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is a huge machine that produces the designer’s vibrant prints; Quinn has turned this into a side business, providing original textiles and patterns for various brands.
“I’ve always been interested in prints and drawing since I was 16 or 17,” says Quinn when we met him and his two assistants – the entirety of his small team – at his studio earlier this month. “Then I went to Central Saint Martins and I was into Tim Walker and Tim Burton and very bold, print-based things.