Her Majesty The Queen visited London Fashion Week to present the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
Her Majesty was greeted upon arrival at London Fashion Week by Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council (BFC). The Queen toured the Designer Showrooms to view the collections and met Headonism and Rock Vault designers Completedworks, DAOU, Frances Wadsworth Jones, Harvey Santos, Lily Kamper, Rachel Boston, Shimell and Madden and The Season Hats. Her Majesty was then introduced by Sarah Mower MBE, BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent to a group of NEWGEN designers including Ben Cottrell, Charles Jeffrey, Grace Wales Bonner, Liam Hodges, Marta Jakubowski, Matthew Dainty, Michael Halpern, Nicholas Daley, Paula Knorr, Phoebe English, Richard Malone and Sadie Williams. Her Majesty then attended Richard Quinn’s runway show before presenting him with The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
The Award, initiated in recognition of the role the fashion industry plays in society and diplomacy, will be awarded annually to an emerging British fashion designer who shows exceptional talent and originality, whilst demonstrating value to the community and/or strong sustainable policies. The first recipient of the Award is British fashion designer Richard Quinn. London born designer Richard Quinn established his namesake label in 2016 upon graduating from the Fashion MA course at Central Saint Martins. Specialising in womenswear and textiles, his collections are bold and emotive creating a forward thinking unafraid vision. Richard Quinn has been recognised for his exceptional prints and for his ability to combine unique handcrafted skill with a refined high fashion sensibility. Already supplying leading stores around the world, Richard’s ethos of collaboration goes beyond his design business to include the creation of a print studio which offers high quality, accessible services to students and his peer group of emerging designers. The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design has been designed by Her Majesty’s Personal Advisor, Ms Angela Kelly, who has orchestrated The Queen’s wardrobe for the past.