LFW AW18: Richard Malone

FAST becoming London’s go-to designer for resourcefulness, Richard Malone’s AW18 show was full of purpose and meaning. Taking influence from his Irish working-class upbringing and the powerful women in his life Malone took the eccentric Unyoke Market, a place full of iron-fisted women, and turned it into high fashion. Playing with fabrics, mismatched seams, and clashing sleeves, Malone embodied the idea of vulgarity in fashion, a concept he is known to have explored in previous collections. Unrefined detail, however, cleverly shone a light on the sustainability factor of his pieces. Tassles that fell to the floor and bags that looked like fishing nets were handwoven entirely from recycled plastic. Recycled viscose also featured in the form of trousers and aprons.

Opening the show was a powerful dark-blue piece, and as the show continued we watched this shade of colour gradually transform into turquoise. This turquoise then merged into red, red merged into pink, and pink merged into green. Although the show was a varied spectrum, Malone cleverly placed similar tones together to create an easy flow of colour through the room. Malone’s market stall reference was felt throughout with some references more literal than others. Models graced the runway in aprons, headscarves, and artisanal jewellery. Basing the collection on an authentic, deeply rooted space, Richard Malone was able to celebrate feminity in an environment he understood and felt comfortable in. Silhouettes were flattering, draping was modest, and the flowing bottoms created an air of elegance.

Fabric manipulation was commendable. Wool was introduced into the collection in the form of large circular shapes, quilted jackets, and structured collars. Malone’s ability to accentuate the female form is also admirable. Splits up the knee revealed sharp, pointed boots, split seams curved to fit the body and opened to reveal ribbed textures, and decorative seams with fringing were placed on the front of trousers to elongate the model’s legs. Check and dogtooth, timeless prints, were used in a way that seemed unprecedented. With a fashion consciousness and an incredible understanding of fabrics and the female form, Malone is set to conquer the fashion industry.

by Lily Rimmer