Loved by Amal (and the Queen) . . . now on sale at Debenhams
Your debut show at London Fashion Week is a stomach- churning experience for any young designer.
But when 28-year-old richard Quinn sent his models down his inaugural catwalk in February, he had the added pressure of royalty on the front row: not only the queen of fashion, Vogue editorin-chief Anna Wintour, but Her Majesty The Queen, too.
Presenting Quinn with the first Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, the monarch was making her first appearance at London Fashion Week.
Soon after this triumph, Quinn received a call from Amal Clooney, one of the world’s most high-profile women: would he dress her for the Met Gala?
While opinions were divided on the resulting red- carpet moment — a strapless corset top with navy trousers and a huge floral skirt — it was certainly a show-stopper and cemented Quinn’s wunderkind status. Now, his celebrity clients include the actress Thandie Newton and model du jour Adwoa Aboah.
Known for his top-to-toe floral prints and avant-garde aesthetics — dresses made from foil, models sporting patterned motorcycle helmets — Quinn might not seem an obvious choice to collaborate with High Street store Debenhams (it has historically partnered with safer names, such as Jasper Conran and Julien Macdonald).
His collection certainly pushes the store’s regular occasionwear in a more edgy direction. The 11-piece range includes a strapless dress with full-length cape, an A-line midi with lemon-yellow blooms and dramatic bell sleeves, and a trapeze-shape coat in a vibrant red-rose print. Surely there were battles to tone it down during the design process?
‘Pretty much everything is as it was in my original drawings,’ insists Quinn when we meet. ‘I think Debenhams
added in a separate pencil skirt with the rose print, for people who don’t want to commit to a full look.’
Prices range from £65 to £149. (his own label retails from the £ 350 mark at
matchesfashion.com and in Liberty). ‘My sisters shop at debenhams,’ says Quinn. ‘I want everyone to have an access point to my clothes.’
not your usual fashion school graduate, Quinn hadn’t even heard of Central saint Martins — alma mater of so many celebrated british designers — until he watched one of their graduate shows on youTube aged 16 and decided to channel his love for art into fashion.
‘no one in my family was like: “Ooh, my friend’s an artist . . . so-and-so’s daughter’s at st Martins.” That was another world.’
after completing his undergraduate degree there, he got a place on the coveted Ma programme but couldn’t afford the tuition fees. Fortunately, a stella McCartney talent scout spotted his work and the label sponsored his studies.
after interning at dior, Quinn won the h&M design award, creating a sellout capsule collection for the brand and pocketing £45,000 in prize money, which he used to set up his studio in a railway arch in Peckham, south London.
Offering workspace to local up-andcoming designers, Quinn has no plans to move: ‘I was born in Lewisham, brought up in Eltham; my dad’s got a scaffolding company a few arches up from mine.’ What about fittings with celebrities — will they go to Peckham? ‘amal came to the studio for all her fittings.’
Four months on from receiving the royal stamp of approval, Quinn doesn’t seem to have been changed by success. In fact, with his trademark baseball cap (which he wore even when he met the Queen) and laid-back manner, he is the antithesis of the highly strung ‘auteur’.
he has no time for prima donnas: ‘People who are rude, who have delusions of grandeur, I won’t work with them.’ and adds that he never gets starstruck. not even when he had to talk anna Wintour through his collection. ‘she’s a powerful woman, but I wasn’t going to melt into a puddle on the floor.’
nerves of steel and a level head: this brit boy will go far.