Sitting down with the British fashion designer, we hear all about his Spring/Summer 2024 collection and the exciting new whisky collaboration.
Riding the high of his profound Spring/Summer 2024 collection, London-based designer Richard Quinn has teamed up with luxury Scotch whisky brand Royal Salute for a collaboration that truly brings out the best in both brands. As part of Royal Salute’s expanding Fashion Collection, the unveiling of the Royal Salute 21 Year Old Richard Quinn Edition II marks the second year of partnership between the two – a collaboration that reflects the highest level of cutting-edge creativity and technical excellence across the two industries. Blended by Master Blender Sandy Hyslop and Quinn himself, the limited edition expression is presented with a beautifully designed six-piece collection that features three enthralling, recognisable prints. From inside to out, this is certainly a collector’s dream.
While at first glance fashion and spirits might not seem the most likely of pairings, Quinn’s label and the whisky company share more in common than one might think. Between a focus on craft, emphasis on designing with intent, and ability to curate an entire world surrounding a product, their design processes and creative endeavours are rooted in the same principles. For a brand that has been built on authenticity and connection, finding partnerships that feel genuine and in line with his values is crucial to Quinn — and this might be the best fit yet.
“We’ve always designed with the vision of a world,” Quinn tells me on a crisp October day as we sit down to connect about his process, his most recent collection, and the Royal Salute collaboration. “I find runways quite boring when they’re just up and down, especially since people see about a million shows a season, so we want you to feel something. We always try to create a sort of atmosphere.”
Richard Quinn and Royal Salute developing the Royal Salute 21 Year Old Richard Quinn Edition II.
Set in the historic, Grade II-listed 1901 ballroom at the Andaz Hotel with an angelic dome evoking an otherworldly aura, the Spring/Summer 2024 collection accomplished just this. Intimate from the fabrications to the styling to the presentation and beyond, the show was a beautiful tribute to Quinn’s father. “Sadly my dad passed away a few months back, so it was really looking at how we could make something quite calm and beautiful, but people could really connect with it,” he explains. “Sometimes our shows are very big and the models are quite far away from people, so being in a much smaller space, though still very grand, this was one of the first times that people have been very close to the clothes and could see all of the details that went into them.” And the details — soft fabrics and light-weight embroideries alluding to a heavenly presence, enhanced by Renaissance-inspired hair and makeup with gold highlighter accents that add a religious essence to the work — were impeccable.
With an attention to building out an entire world with each collection, from the music selected to the smell that the team infuses into a space, it is no wonder that taste would be a natural next step for Quinn. So, when Royal Salute attended one of his shows and later sent over a box, the designer instantly started brainstorming ways to make the collaboration a success. “Usually you see the colour of whisky, but they have this really nicely crafted ceramic flagging that was basically a blank canvas we could do anything to. It was an open-ended creative project,” he explains. “It was one of those things where it was just a question of, how can we work together and how could this make sense?”
While part of that excitement came from designing the outside of the bottles, he was determined to make the collaboration a comprehensive, 360° endeavour – working with Royal Salute on the whisky expression itself. To do so, he travelled to the Strathisla Distillery in Speyside, Scotland to learn the process of whisky-making and develop a bespoke blend. “From the outside, it just looks like a cottage, but then you go in and it’s a secret big distillery underneath,” he shares. “And the Master Blender, Sandy, lined up all the different tastes and smells, almost like perfume.” The result, a rich fruity offering with hints of smoky spice, is as opulent and unique as the bottles that house it.
The three bottle designs.
And the response has been astounding. As his second collaboration with Royal Salute, Quinn knew a bit of what to expect from collectors and fans alike – but tells me that with this edition, which they pushed even further than the last, the reaction has been one of his favourite parts of the collaboration. “I’m really enjoying seeing how print can be applied and seeing my work in a different context and all that, but actually meeting the people that are so into it and are collecting them is quite cool.”
“Even though in our massive world it isn’t such a crazy thing to do, to put a print on a bottle, when you actually see it in airports and all these different outlets and it’s reaching all these amazing customers that you’d never otherwise reach…,” he momentarily trails off in thought. “One of the prints you can only buy at the airport and people were actually Instagram messaging me saying they had the other two but needed the third.”
This dedication is not unlike his typical clients, whose positive reaction is always a highlight of his presentations. “I really like when people come to the show who we know like the collections. It’s quite exciting when we have private clients and people who write about us that we know like us. We’re quite good friends with our clients and all the people that we work with, so it’s just quite nice to see everyone. It’s fun. Obviously, we’re open to critique and we don’t like to censor anyone, but I often compare a fashion show to a party. Would I want this person at my birthday?”
One thing is for sure — we’d invite Richard Quinn and Royal Salute to any party we throw.
Explore the collection…
The Royal Salute 21 Year Old Richard Quinn Edition II is available at select luxury retailers worldwide, including at thewhiskyexchange.com. For more information, click here.
