Richard Quinn chooses Epson to print complete set & furniture textiles for festival stage

Summer is festival season in the UK and Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall last week (27-30^th July) celebrated words, music, fashion, nature and food. One of the stages at the event was the ‘The Wardrobe Department’ which hosted interviews with new young creative talent and design legends on a set totally designed, and much of it personally produced, by award-winning fashion designer Richard Quinn using Epson digital print technology.

A fan of Epson digital printers, Richard Quinn printed the Mylar metallic wall coverings and Premier Textiles furniture fabric himself on his dye-sublimation Epson SureColor SC-F9200 in his new Richard Quinn Studio. Forming the stage centrepiece, the unique sofa and armchair were upholstered by department store John Lewis in association with furniture manufacturer Parker Knoll.  The matching stage floor tiles were printed by Slam Signs on Spandex non-slip vinyl on a SureColor SC-S80600 printer. All the elements were installed on-site by Andrew Tomlinson, creating a stunning flower-powered set. 

During the festival Sarah Mower, British Fashion Council Ambassador for Emerging Talent and Chief Critic for Vogue.com, interviewed Richard on the stage about his new collection launch at London Fashion Week later this year and his new print studio in London. This creative space allows Richard to not only develop and produce his own collections, but also provide a print service, run workshops, and enable young designers to use the equipment themselves if they wish.

“Being invited to create a unique, one off set for the festival was such an exciting prospect,” says Richard. “Although initially daunting because I had to create so many appropriate surfaces and textiles for the set, the Epson technology, its ease of use and multiple available substrates made the task straight forward, cost effective and achievable in a short time frame. My design and print is all about the colour vibrancy and the Epson technology allowed me to get the desired Pantones with ease across all the substrates. The SureColour SC-F9200 has been so efficient for our fashion line and this was the first time exploring upholstery fabrics -  a great success! The Epson option for a 4 pass plus 30 ensured the thicker pile fabrics are as vibrant as others, making the Parker Knoll furniture really pop!”

“It’s very exciting how Richard is exploring the considerable flexibility of digital print to take his designs onto a wide variety of substrates,” says Richard Barrow, Senior Product Manager, Epson Europe. “He is leading the vanguard of new young designers who are taking advantage of the considerable power of digital to create new opportunities and businesses.”

Photo credits: Louise Roberts