Interview with Richard Nicoll, we’ve just seen your latest collection. What was the highlight of the show for you?
Well I guess it being over actually... but I was really happy with it. It’s always nice to finish a collection that you’re content with, and it went smoothly as far as I could see.
What is the key inspiration and influences for your collection?
Well I started looking at elements of immediacy, and something that was really integral to me, so I looked at my own wardrobe and took details. I used garbage bags and DIY references from around the house, and reconstructed my wardrobe with those elements mixed in. I also looked at French celebrities’ fashion. I looked at Tina Chow as a muse, taking the rusk colour and the petrol colour from those references. It really was a clash of trash and old school.
What were the key materials that you used in your collection?
There was a lot of cotton tulle, predominantly actually tulle, and then wool and plait. Then silks and velvet and moiré taffeta.
What are the major trends that people should be keeping an eye out for?
I think that long legged silhouettes are going to be something that is pushed this season, just because I think people are sick of seeing short skirts as I guess they’ve become a bit boring. I wanted to do something that was new, but still showed leg and was light, hence using tulle for the long skirts.
Any other designers you keen to see?
Yeah I would love to see Jonathon Saunders and Christopher Kane – but don’t think I’m going to be able to this year. I would do if I could!
“I am delighted to have been selected for the COTTON USA sponsorship,” Richard Nicoll revealed. “Cotton features strongly in my latest collection, as well as of course being featured in the Richard Nicoll Shirt range, making the collaboration with COTTON USA and American cotton the ideal partnership”, he recalled.
One hundred high-ranked buyers attended Nicoll’s COTTON USA-sponsored show during London Fashion Week, as well as 230 journalists. Vogue UK, Grazia, Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Times were represented.
Nicoll, a British-born Australian-raised designer, graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2002. Going on to work at Louis Vuitton, he showed his first collection as part of Fashion East for SS05. Nicoll’s training has established him as the “King of the Shirt,” as quoted by Suzy Menkes, with this separate line selling out across the world. Made from U.S. cotton, this premium line has been a hit with celebrities including Kate Moss.
The COTTON USA sponsorship was awarded in previous years to Meadham Kirchhoff, Nathan Jenden, Sinha-Stanic, PPQ, Preen, Gardem Paris and Deryck Walker.
