Nicole Miller may be a rebel with a cause, but she always manages to be subversive in a delightful way. The veteran designer describes her spring 2014 collection, which she debuted in a small, packed venue at the Lincoln Center tents during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in September, as revolutionary.
A trip to Versailles got her thinking about peasants racing around the manicured gardens, storming the palace, tipping over furniture and shattering china into shards of glass. Miller, the queen of prints, took that idea and created colorful fabrics mixing flowers in riotous colors with jagged shard patterns of broken glass or bold black-and-white stripes.
Her first look, a draped dress, combines five different patterns but still manages to look put-together in a hip, yet ladylike way. Slashed skinny jeans and beaded moto jackets elicit a more rebellious attitude, but the collection also appeals to the urban woman who doesn't care about being so cutting-edge.
Before the show began I was feeling a little subversive myself, and I slipped into a front-row seat next to an A-list fashion friend and Miller's business partner, Bud Konheim. But just as the lights went down to start the show, I got busted when a latecomer retrieved the seat. I had to watch from the top row, wedged in between a bunch of fashion newbies with their cellphone cameras aimed at the runway throughout the show.
Nicole Miller ivory sundress with black embroidery.
