Richie McCoy had always been fascinated by fashion and loved to play dress up since he was a small child. Growing up in The Bahamas, he was surrounded by all the incredible creativity of the Caribbean and, although he never put much thought into it, that Caribbean influence stayed with him.
As a young adult, he was inspired by a well-known Bahamian designer, Theodore Elyett, and was determined to follow in his footsteps. Immediately after high school in 2011, McCoy started designing fashion pieces, sketching out the designs he had in his head.
In 2012, he took a leap of faith and bought a sewing machine, using it to create unique swimwear pieces. He was determined to create something unique and sought to create a fashion label of his own.
That determination led him to compete in Nassau’s Fash Art competition in 2013, where he debuted his first fashion label, The Rich. McCoy was able to show off his designs for a whole new audience, and shortly after the competition, his designs were being seen all over the Caribbean.
McCoy’s success was a nod to the many Caribbean fashion designers that came before him and a signal of things to come. Creating beautiful designs and expressing his creativity, Richie McCoy has risen to become a symbol of hope and possibility for aspiring fashion designers in The Bahamas.
