“We print everything in-house. We cut everything in-house. Yes, the beads are made elsewhere, but everything is made in-house.” Richard Quinn said this immediately after a show whose freshly carpeted salon location at the Andaz London was wrapped in 900 square meters of his signature floral fabric. That fabric, he added, had already been sold to a retailer: “Nothing is wasted.”
While London’s womenswear fashion lineup is teeming with inner-city radicals, it’s not overpopulated by uptown conservatives: Quinn is apparently thriving in that underpopulated niche. Armed with the invaluable recognition of being the first winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, plus his considerable talents, he has built a primarily vertical business dedicated to serving an affluent, often transnational clientele who might not otherwise would have many established customers. London designers adorn their habits.
Call it demi-couture or call it old-fashioned tailoring: it’s both possible. About a quarter of this collection was bridal, a symphony of full-rimmed, embellished bodices, tulle-shrouded parent busts in variations of ivory. There was a significant opening suite of gowns and not quite catsuits that, as Saint Laurent once pioneered, spotlighted traditional men’s evening wear. Those not-quite-catsuits, hung with shivering arcuate rows of beading wire, had ruffled bibs; next to the traditionally Quinn-y floral catsuits, worn under flowing feather trains, they evoked a kind of luxurious glam rock vibe. Gowns with latticework of crystal or laced with tiny sequined flowers were recognizable riffs on event-wear norms, delivered with flair and care and passing regally despite the occasional destabilizing disagreement between heel, hem and carpet.
By the end, that newly laid floor was lined with trails of errant ostrich feathers. The applause was thunderous, and many among the watching coterie of obvious patrons pointed with obvious intent to pieces that passed them during the finale. Afterwards, during that conversation, Quinn said his committees often come in two sizes: one for mother and one for daughter. This fact had catalyzed the central thrust of today’s show. “It’s: What would a mother pass on to her daughter? It was a kind of reaction against the idea of brands, logos and hype, and the idea of constantly seeking newness in radical ways. [Instead] that was what we were about: working with the customer, understanding what sells, but also showing what we believe can be passed on from mother to daughter. Actually clothes that you should cherish forever.”
