February 16, 2020 |
Welcome to the house of Richard Quinn, where Swarovski crystals shine bright, florals are in abundance and studded gimp masks are the new norm. It’s a wonderful, dreamy place of fashion joy, with no stops pulled and nothing saved for later. It might seem at odds with the times, but Quinn is here to remind everyone of the opulence and excess high fashion has represented for decades. His shows are about the theatre of clothes as much as about their beauty, with exuberance popping up on every corner of the space and inch of his garments.
His AW20 show was another chapter of elevation, bringing his wild and crazy couture-inspired ideas to life and offering them as real wardrobe solutions to his audience. First look out: a broad-shouldered masked individual in Quinn’s interpretation of pearly kings and queens. They’re wearing flats – oh, well then it must be a man, because his girls wear only the tallest talons. “If we’re running a house we need both men and women,” said the British designer backstage, talking about exploring the Britishness in tradition and style and expanding his market. And he does indeed treat his men just as his women – with corsetry, heavy embroidery and razor-sharp tailoring, it takes a lot of effort to embody one of Quinn’s muses.
The show also marked his first catwalk partnership with the legendary stylist Carine Roitfeld who Quinn said “has a personality of a British person.” Roitfeld gave her signature sexy drama to the voluminous floral gowns, flounces of finest silks and flowy kaftans with crystal bracelets attached to them. Ostrich feathers bounced everywhere, framing the faces of boys and girls, adding that bit of soft kink which we’ve come to know Richard Quinn for. Paving a way for himself as the next London couturier, he is bound to become the next big thing. Oh wait, he already is…
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
