Richard Malone: A voice for Sustainability and Practicality

by Shreya S

I remember when I discovered Richard Malone through his jumpsuit design featured on Museum of Modern art: Is fashion modern?. Something about it stuck with me and I researched about him and I tell you, it was love at first sight. You will instantly fall in love with his designs. The brilliant silhouettes, soothing colors, and prints, and fabrics. It was so different and attractive. It will break the pattern in your mind after seeing the relatively similar shows and looks. A graduate of Central Saint Martins he comes from Ireland and works in London Richard Malone is someone I greatly look forward to and hope to see a lot of in future.

Gradually I discovered not only he created beautiful designs but he was one of the few people in the fashion industry actually working towards sustainability. “Nothing should be considered luxurious or desirable that is harmful and exploitative,” he said in an interview to the Evening Standard. He continues “For me, it’s about turning it on its head – making luxury, limited edition clothes from recycled and sustainably-sourced fabric.”

He says in an interview for Dazed magazine “Maybe if some of the big designers actually spoke to the women who were buying their clothes, they would understand that women have shit to do in the day as well,” he laughs. “Why would a woman not want a pocket in her skirt to keep her phone in? Why would she need to be waist-trained to fit into a dress?”. And I couldn’t agree more.

He understands what women want, real women. They want comfort and practicality. He makes sure to include that in his collections. It’s hard to imagine this from his clothes since they are so structurally different from the usual but they do seem to provide practicality. The materials and fabrics used in his work seem very interesting and he presents us with a basic yet intriguing set of colors. Love the way he uses ruching on unique fabrics and his soft but structural silhouettes. His beautiful and mesmerizing prints are something that will have an impact on your mind. And practicality is a huge part of his brand everything has pockets and everything is machine-washable.

He is one to look out for and has massive potential. He focuses on the topics and issues that really need attention and are often left unacknowledged by the big fashion houses and designers. With each collection he has gotten wonderfully outrageous and unique it is how one would define progress. For his spring 2021 he ventured out into more elegant and conventionally feminine looks. He has successfully found his feet in the industry along with a signature style. Trust me if I could I would buy everything he has made.

Spring 2018 Ready-to-Wear