Making a mark with his rubber suits and polka dots in the British fashion scene, young designer William Richard Green who showcased his work at the recently concluded Colombo Fashion Week discusses how a countryside boy made it in London
William Richard Green is the UK’S hottest new menswear designer. His graduate collection in 2009, House of a Thousand Corpses, inspired Lady Gaga to request an outfit be made for her. Other designers would be besides themselves but William is coolly dismissive. “It’s not really my thing,” he shrugs. “I was happy to do it, but I’ll probably stay away from things like that in the future.”it is this attitude of staying true to his own brand of design that’s made him one of the industry’s hottest young acts.
Fresh off London Fashion Week, William was sponsored by the British Council Colombo to showcase his work at last month’s Colombo Fashion Week 2012. Presenting a line of high-end sportswear inspired by football and oddly enough, polka dots, the collection’s cool minimalism and ultra masculinity delighted the fashion critics.
Having grown up in the countryside, William shows a fondness for tough, wearable materials when it comes to his clothes. He exclusively uses Britishproduced fabrics such as British wool and wax cotton for his sleek and whimsical creations. One blast from his countryside past that he encountered in London? Barber jackets! “I remember being forced to wear them for school and complaining about it,” he grins. “And then when I came to London, everyone was in them! So I dug out my old barber jacket, brushed off the mud, and wore it with the best of ‘em.”
He graduated in 2009 from Central St Martins; served time on Saville Row and worked for David Saunders at the much hyped label David David. This young gentleman was named one of ‘2012’s Brightest Young Things’ by London department store Selfridges. “I’ve done some weird outfits,”’ William recollects, “I clearly remember at least one clown outfit in my graduate collection. And then there are the rubber suits.” Here is a designer known for his rubber creationspurely fashion, mind. ‘I do at least one or two rubber themed outfits for every collection. People love them, and there’s always a good feedback.’
In Colombo, William’s seen his fair share of local fashion. He has one complaint though-“everything is so westernized. Nobody seems to wear much of the traditional or ethnic here.” When asked what local fashion strikes him most, he answers, Batik. “I’ve never seen it used before and I think it’s amazing.”
His collection was very well received and he waves it off, laughing, “It was nice to put the clothes on muscular bodies for once. In England all the models are androgynous and quite skinny, whereas here the male models are very masculine and toned.”
In the past, William’s work has been described as ‘menswear that seamlessly flows between tailoring, street and sportswear, offering a slouchy loose aesthetic that is essentially masculine and yet looks good on a woman.’(i-d online). It is this aesthetic he plans to bring into his new venture- having stuck exclusively to menswear for the past three years, William is ready for change. He will be working with high street fashion chain Top Shop to develop a women’s wear collection.
Iconic designer Paul Smith inspires him. “He goes out there and just does his own thing. Never bothers about what the current rules of fashion dictate. And I’m inspired by that,” he says. This refusal to conform to the norm is what makes his designer label, William Richard Green, a name to watch out for. Visit www. williamrichardgreen.com for more on William and his
creations.