FANCIFUL florals, black PVC and puff sleeve galore, Richard Quinn and his AW19 show fulfilled all of my dress-up – but make it fashion – dreams. Pairing the seductive and the sumptuous, the collection showed just the right amount of traditional elegance with a touch of brazenness, fragile tulle met fetish latex leaving the audience hungry for more. Each model appeared from a corner of darkness into a set with a grand chandelier and a wall of flowers and wild shrubbery. This was, as Richard Quinn put it, a “Secret Garden, that everyone’s invited to.” Teaming up with The Mayor’s #Londonisopen campaign, Quinn was making a statement in the set alone. This garden wasn’t just any garden – it was one that had flourished in inner-city London, a place of freedom and a place where liberating style choices are encouraged.
Proving that couture elements can, and should, be introduced onto ready-to-wear runways, Quinn brought forward-thinking shapes, such as the voluminous trapezes and puffball dresses, to AW19. Quinn’s floramaniac print, synonymous to his brand, was brought to a new level, colours were bolder, embroidery was intensified and layering and geometric folds were aplenty. New to the Quinn runway were Marabou feathers, and oh how pleased we were to see them. Offering a lighter touch to the extravagant gowns, the feathers billowed in the wind in the form of a shoulder cuff, and as a full white hood – seen in the epic, bridal finale look below.
As the models gracefully glided across the runway (their feet were predominantly cloaked by the full-length gowns) live music was played by Freya Ridings, a British Breakthrough success story of 2018 who reached the Top 10 with Lost Without You, a song written entirely by herself. Her soft yet powerful voice and her lyrics of love, loss and hope was the perfect accompaniment to the show, in which unafraid glamour flourished so beautifully you almost felt like you could fall into an uncontrollable fit of tears at any moment.
Richard Quinn and Freya Ridings are two very powerful voices of our generation and their ability to convey their message through the medium of fashion and music, respectively, is an approach that has been proven successful in the past. With their work ethic and creative handling of issues, issues that are more important now than ever, we can find hope and feel somewhat settled in the knowledge that beauty can still be found in this time of ugliness. Thank you, Richard Quinn.
by Lily Rimmer