Designer Nicole Miller
Best known for her colorful gowns worn by celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Jessica Simpson, fashion designer Nicole Miller looked to designs from the past for her fall/winter collection, which debuts Friday. Miller tells TIME about how Jimi Hendrix influenced her new collection, what it’s like being a New Yorker at New York Fashion Week and which celebrity she’d like to dress next.
What is the inspiration for your fall collection?
It’s kind of taken on a 1970s look to it. I’d seen this picture of Jimi Hendrix that I really liked but, you know, I don’t stop at one thing. I started researching that period and then I was looking at these old pictures of Marianne Faithfull and old movies from the ’70s like Zabriskie Point and Wonderwall. It just sort of got me thinking about how all those times parallel today. They were marching on Wall Street back then and they’re marching on Wall Street now. I just got very into that whole time period and used a lot of that for inspiration, and put a contemporary twist to it. It’s also very colorful. A lot of my collections were very black and dark, and I’m just getting excited about color again.
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Any particular color?
A lot of purple, of course. That’s been a good color for us recently, so just various different shades of it. Also greens, I’m really into these foresty greens. They look really fresh to me.
What’s your favorite piece from the collection?
I have this alpaca-sleeved jacket, where the body is made out of metal and leather. I found this great leather that’s used with metal, so it has this kind of great crush to it, and then it’s got alpaca sleeves. It’s fur, but it’s food fur.
What’s it like being a New Yorker at New York Fashion Week?
When the Europeans come here, they have to do a lot of packing and they have to set up shop here, so I guess it’s harder for them. We just have to take our office up to Lincoln Center. It must be very complicated for them.
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Is there any particular celebrity you’d like to dress who you haven’t had a chance to yet?
I like that Amanda Seyfried. I don’t know how to say her name, but I think she’s cute.