Rapid career and early-spotted talent
Richard Quinn was born in 1990, he graduated from London’s Central Saint Martins four years ago, he was awarded the Stella McCartney Scholarship and set out on a journey into the daunting world of fashion. He had a good run right off the start. In the same year of his graduation, Quinn received another award, this time in cash, funded by H&M. The sum guaranteed by the clothing giant gave him the opportunity to produce the first professional collection, which appeared in H&M stores in autumn 2017.
For some, commercial partnership may turn out to be a deceptive success, shrouded with superficial independence and producing lacklustre collections, but Richard Quinn squeezed out the maximum of the opportunity that was handed to him. His talent and perseverance were not in vain. The cooperation with the Swedish fashion company was a great opportunity for him to break through on one of the most competitive markets.
A year later, style icon Amal Clooney donned Richard Quinn's gown at the red carpet at the Met Gala, the most important fashion event of the year. It caused a great stir, not only because of the brilliance of Quinn's design, but also due to the wearer herself. The favor of the stars, and talent recognition confirmed by successive awards and recurrent collections allowed Quinn to fully spread his wings. He quickly started to conquer the catwalks during seasonal fashion weeks in London, with his collections receiving encouraging appraisal, even from the most fierce critics. What is so appealing in Quinn’s work that makes them so interested in his shows?
Richard Quinn, a flower designer
The industry baptised Richard Quinn as a flower designer. And there are reasons for it. Practically each of his collections is based on a flower theme, regardless of the season. With the use of floral fabrics, Quinn produces completely new cuts and silhouettes, which define a brand new aesthetic of women's fashion. Dresses confront standard shapes and cuts, and his models often showcase head-to-toe covered ensembles. Their faces are concealed so one can see them as a whole, without diving into specific parts of the design and model herself.
Covering the face is a procedure popularized by Martin Margiela, who was the first to grace the catwalks with the lavishly embellished masks on models’ faces. Demna Gvasalia utilized that notion in Balenciaga shows. Richard Quinn turns his models entirely into floral compositions. By employing that feat, the design with the plethora of prints and lustrous textiles, not the models, dominates the show.
This year, Richard Quinn flaunted his innermost imagination via his partnership with the Moncler Genius project. Every season Moncler invites various fashion designers to create collections that defy standard ready-to-wear fashion designs. Flower-themed designs from Moncler and Richard Quinn for the spring collection are marvelous. Everything seems to be excessive and exaggerated, but the end result is yet surprising and intriguing.
This sort of creativity lies cheek by jowl with art that could be successfully featured in museum exhibitions. Some models had their faces covered, which, next to the flowers, became the signature of a young, aspiring British designer. Quinn is not afraid to create what his imagination dictates him. There’s no doubt he won the hearts of his mentors and gurus, fashion industry bigwigs and the entire fashion community. Today, he is considered the hope of London Fashion Week and everyone is looking forward to attending his shows.
