Last season Richard Quinn closed London Fashion Week with an all-black tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Sept. 8.
The British designer is now ready for the light. “As darkness falls and the chandeliers alight, the Richard Quinn garden comes to life,” read his show notes. But there was still a strong, poignant sadness in the air.
“It was just all these amazing models from the couture days gone past,” said Quinn backstage, explaining that the sadness was a reaction to the past that he and stylist Carine Roitfeld connected on.
“We were conveying our love for the clothes, music, emotions and everything that comes with it — and we have a huge couture bridal part of our business that no one really knows much about,” he added, referring to the 24 white looks that came out on the black and white diamond floors.
Quinn’s fashion garden was planted with respect to the greats of couture. “I love old Givenchy, old Chanel and old Dior as well, all these powerhouses,” he said.
Quinn’s take on couture meant plastering poppies, roses and other flowers onto cocoon shaped dresses; bouclé coats, and two-piece suits inspired by Christian Dior’s “New Look” silhouette.
He adopted the same ethos in the bridalwear, which he was ready to show off in all its glory with the refinement he had made behind the scenes. “It’s clean, honest and raw. Everyone was very close to the clothes; I really wanted it to be intimate with the music and atmosphere, as though you’re peeking through the hedges and witnessing something quite special,” said Quinn.