Nicole Farhi (Q3507)
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Nicole Farhi is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Nicole Farhi |
Nicole Farhi is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
At Joanna Sykes' first men's show for Nicole Farhi, there was a crystal on every seat. It was meant to bring clarity and serenity, a press release said. Serenity is what the crystal, Sykes, or both, brought. The collection was placid, almost to the point of numb. It rolled along like a wave, in blues and stony grays, the soft tailored suits and knits borne along by guys whose espadrilles ensured they barely made a sound. Peace and paring down might not have been the best attributes to highlight, as Sykes has an interesting way with textures. Many of the pieces beckoned for a closer look, including the most boldly patterned of all, jacquard suits inspired by the geometric lines of modern glass skyscrapers, like the Regent's Place tower, where the collection was shown.
17 June 2013
Sometimes, all a brand needs is a good shake. Newly appointed creative director Joanna Sykes has certainly given Nicole Farhi that: In her first season at its helm, she's cleared away all that was digressive and superfluous, and instituted a regime of rigorous focus. As Sykes explained at the by-appointment Farhi presentation today, her first moves at the house were to shift production back to Italy, as part of a general recommitment to quality and to restore Farhi's original vision of her brand as an adaptable, man's-style wardrobe for women. So far, so good. And though this collection did feel rather formative—and justly so—it boasted so many fantastic pieces and such a well-defined point of view that you just had to look forward to the development to come.Sykes' emphasis here was on menswear-inspired looks; indeed, "emphasis" may be too weak a word, as the influence was evident in virtually every piece. The most interesting looks took traditional menswear elements and exaggerated them: to wit, a button-down shirt that incorporated a kind of cummerbund, or a magnified pinstripe print, or a dense, hand-loomed knit that blew up both the pattern and texture of tweed. Meanwhile, even the more mundane looks benefited from Sykes' razor-sharp cuts. This is a designer who knows her way around an angle; the collection as a whole had a cool sense of geometry. Farhi herself, of course, was pursuing a softer course in her final collections, and it was hard not to miss some of her sculptural fluidity; that said, in Sykes' previous gig heading up Aquascutum she always managed to infuse elements of femininity and sensuousness into erstwhile mannish clothes. You have to assume that Sykes will return to that form now that she's got her Nicole Farhi principles set down. All in all, this collection was a modest success on its own terms, and augured really well for Nicole Farhi's future.
16 February 2013
As of January 2012, Nicole Farhi had a new owner; as of September, a new creative director, too: Joanna Sykes, late of Aquascutum. Menswear was the first task Sykes set herself to when she took over, and the first she's shown to the public. She's made some changes—moving all production back to Italy key among them—and is starting small: a capsule collection, she called it at a presentation this morning. It modestly took up only a few racks in the label's Conduit Street space. Farhi had been on the runway in Milan, but that's "like running before you're delivering good, beautiful product," Sykes said. And such product was her goal. She drew upon her history in fashion and long connections to producers to find better factories—the sort, she confided, who knit for Chanel, Balenciaga, and Louis Vuitton. ("He does not need the work," she added, as her knitwear purveyor, who'd flown the samples over from Italy himself the night before, delivered a kiss on the cheek.) Those knits were high points of the soft, understated collection, which also featured plenty of the jersey tailoring for which Farhi herself was known. Menswear seems to suit Sykes' pared-down preferences, and she promised more of the same as she grows into her new role—in womenswear as well as in men's. "It's my thing anyway. I'm not into frills and bows. I'm quite a men's-y designer for women. A lot of our women's tailoring will be made in men's factories."
7 January 2013
This was a swan song of sorts. Next season Jo Sykes will show her first collection as the creative director of Nicole Farhi. And though Farhi herself will remain actively involved in her brand, it appears that she will no longer be its driving design force. So it's rather fitting that, this season, fashion has come to meet Farhi where she lives. Many of the emerging key themes for Spring 2013 are ones that she's been pursuing steadfastly for a long time. Sculptural shapes. Rich texture. Technical fabric development. Even her delight in materials such as Perspex and plastic has gone viral all of a sudden. Farhi didn't have to do much for her collection to look on-target this season; in the end, she did more than enough.The collection Farhi showed today was inspired, she explained, by the marble mountains of Carrara, Italy—and by Edward Burtynsky's photographs thereof. She made the unexpected and interesting choice to explore that inspiration through time, using her studiously neutral palette to reflect the changing colors of the light falling onto the mountain faces, and innovating a variety of pleat constructions that suggested the shifting of shadows. The pleated pieces made for many of the collection's most winning looks, such as a belted nude dress with pleats set far apart, like straps, and the show-opening white shift boasting a single, sculptural pleat that fell like a sash across the body. There was also a very cool, chalky gray skirt with the pleats sewn in diagonally, a technique that lent a forgiving softness to the silhouette. That's some smart design, right there. Nicole Farhi could be handing over the reins for any number of reasons, but it's not because she's out of ideas.
15 September 2012
For Spring, Nicole Farhi and her menswear designer, Massimo Nicosia, clicked onto their look of the season from a trip to Brighton, one of England's seaside resort towns that has known tonier days. "I visited Brighton for the first time six months ago," the Italian-born Nicosia said backstage. "I found it fantastic and strange—a bit Las Vegas in a way." That's putting it mildly. Brighton to Britons conjures visions of questionable taste, which Nicosia admitted he was courting in this collection. His referenced muses were peacocks who didn't mind standing out, come hell or high water—the Regency dandy George IV on one hand, Mick Jagger circa the seventies on the other.A collaboration with Sunspel, the heritage English underwear label, gave rise to under-turned-outerwear hybrids: elasticated pants in boxer short fabrics and prints, nylon-treated undershorts worn with tops tucked into their waistbands. Those may work better on the editorial page than the boardwalk (and, on the subject of seaside readiness, a beachy season seemed an odd time to collaborate with Tricker's on classic brogues). Better here were the simpler tailored pieces, slim-cut slacks and light jackets in oceanic blue. Among the explicitly Brighton-referencing ideas (deck chair stripes, woven shorts modeled on woven wicker laundry hampers), printed pieces based on the Royal Pavilion's decor were best. A bon mot of Laurence Olivier's gave the collection its epigraph: "Do you know what success smells like? It smells like Brighton." It dared you to wonder whether the converse is true.
16 June 2012
Nicole Farhi didn't exactly make a fuss over the fact that today's show marked the 30th anniversary of her brand. Sure, there was some confetti on the clothes, but in general Farhi saw fit to inaugurate her fourth decade in business by doing exactly what she's been doing for much of the past three. To wit, the new Farhi collection was a typically accomplished affair, rich in accessible, adult clothes made from luxe, technically innovative materials. Why rock the boat?Farhi's theme this time out was turn-of-the-century Vienna and the French Art Nouveau, and that translated into a mood of dour glamour. There was an overcast palette of white, dirty-white, smoke, and almost-black gray, a mannish slouch to the knits and the tailoring, and an emphasis on high necks that gave the collection a particularly covered-up mien. There was even something subdued about Farhi's Klimt-influenced fugue of metallics: The metal sequins she used were matte, and had a mineral feeling; a gorgeous bronze jacquard had a mottled look, like a fading penny. Elsewhere, Farhi tamped down the metals by asserting a geometric discipline, as in a paneled party dress, or tossing on an oversize knit. The confetti skirts had pop, though.
18 February 2012
Nicole Farhi marks its 30th anniversary this year, and Farhi and men's designer Massimo Nicosia decided to celebrate with a trip. Their new collection borrowed freely from traditions around the globe: Overcoats were created with Indian quilting techniques, William Morris prints from the Liberty archive were needle-punched onto jackets, and the pop iconography of Hawaiian shirts was splattered onto palm-printed tees. The looks came accessorized with collaborative suitcases from the heritage English label Globe-Trotter, loafers (all the easier to slip in and out of at airport security), and matching sleep masks for the man on the move.Maybe it was the mostly dark palette (even the palm trees bloomed on gray) or the driving punk beat, but something seemed anxious about these wandering souls. No spring break, this. Cock your head just so and the hard-eyed boys with their matching masks looked like missionaries for some lost cause—or militiamen out to enforce it. Farhi dismissed such a notion, but it lent a not unbecoming urgency to the collection. Suffice it to say, whatever the spur of the journey, it continues, thanks in part to an investment and a commitment for expansion—especially abroad—from a new majority shareholder.
15 January 2012
Today's Nicole Farhi show started off ho-hum, with a series of soigné summertime looks in white and yellow that wouldn't have seemed out of place in an old Slim Aarons photo. Nice enough—but then things got interesting. Farhi likes to experiment with her textiles, and the first hint that she had a few of those tricks up her sleeve this season appeared in an oversize mesh tank top covered all over with sequins. Then there was the micro mesh, printed in a rich floral pattern and layered over colored fabrics that made the flowers pop. Mesh-faced garments such as a greenish pair of boy-cut trousers and a fuchsia-toned top looked beautiful from afar, and a little blurry and strange up close; the effect wasn't unlike coming upon a pointillist painting by Georges Seurat, and watching it take shape and dissolve again before your eyes as you shift perspective.Farhi said after the show that she was inspired by gardens this time out, and she incorporated the reference via 3-D embellishment and garment construction, as well as through print. A series of all-white looks at the close of the show featured laser-cut leather flowers, while a mod shift in buttercup yellow was appliquéd in plastic blossoms. Elsewhere, she used boning to lend a petal shape to pleated skirts, and gave otherwise simple dresses a sculptural aspect to do the same. The palette here was worthy of note: Alongside a bouquet of painterly floral prints, Farhi deployed tonal combinations of red, pink, blush, and orange that were almost too sweet. What cut the treacle was the counteraction of graphic elements, clean lines, and sporty accents. All in all, Farhi sent out a collection of pretty clothes with a modern tone.
17 September 2011
The great thing about Nicole Farhi is that, despite the fact that she makes polished clothes for grown-ups, she hasn't lost that young designer's sense of restless invention. Where you saw that, in Farhi's latest collection, was in the fabrications: There were Plasticine "ravioli" sequins, strangely puckered and nouveau mod; metallicized herringbone suits; chain-mail yarns; and more. The clothes traded between slick, glossy materials and warm, tactile ones, as in the calfskin mounted on bonded jersey dresses, and that textural variety gave the collection its sense of richness.Its strength, though, was largely in its subtleties. Sometimes that had to do with proportion, as in a voluminous white shirtdress, or the kimono sleeves on a tailored coat. Often, it was the detail that made Farhi's most winning pieces stand out. A curvy white wool dress featured strategically placed zippers that gave the look a graphic pop. A navy halter top in substantial jersey was detailed with broderie anglaise. A black melton trenchcoat had dramatic split sleeves. One of the oddest and best subtle touches was the fusing process Farhi had applied to a variety of cable knits: Shape-wise, the pieces were nothing special, just boxy crewneck sweaters, but the fusing created an intriguingly un-knitlike texture. It seemed as though the cables had been sculpted out of the sweaters, rather than woven into them.An especially good version of the fused cable knit was white in front, navy in back, and that was characteristic of this collection's play with contrast. Elsewhere, there were the calfskin/jersey dresses, the calfskin mounted in a geometric block that worked against the close fit of the jersey, and flat wool skirts with Miyake-esque pleats sewn on, apron-style. Farhi's architectural impulse sometimes saw her straying into ungainly proportions and construction, to wit the high, mannish trousers and full skirts with cummerbund waists, or a stiff, shiny column dress that didn't particularly look like it was supposed to have a person inside it. It's hard to complain about Farhi's missteps, though—it's her willingness to integrate new ideas into her clothes that's the source of her eternal youth.
19 February 2011
Is it futile to resist the riptide of minimalism currently tugging at designers across the aesthetic spectrum? If you're of the Cavalli or Decarnin school of thought, the answer is no. But if your goal is to make pretty clothes that women want to wear, the best strategy is to swim with this particularismuntil it runs its course.That's where Nicole Farhi found herself for Spring. "I don't want to depart from my signature, which is feminine and soft," Farhi said backstage. "But I want to get some novelty with a harder edge; that's the challenge." The designer updated her brand of prettiness with new materials like paper, rubber latex, and a tinsel-like Lurex, which she remixed into streamlined, and often hybridized, silhouettes.At its strongest, Farhi's collection had a squeaky-clean modern punch. What worked best were a navy nylon trenchcoat with a single flap of royal blue latex, the trio of dresses in Easter-egg colors that twisted their twenties-influenced silhouettes with razor-sharp pleats paneled in nylon, and an airy acid yellow silk dress shaped only by a Perspex halter and belt.At times, the silvery and shiny elements here seemed to be an old way of envisioning futuristic clothes: 2011 via 1961. And yet there was something modern about the simple sandals crafted from bands of leather (in natural buff tones or primary hues) as well as clear Perspex. They looked like an updated version of something Jane Birkin might have worn, and paired with everything from a paillette-embroidered cocktail frock to a fluid suit, they were perfectly in step for today.
19 September 2010
Sometimes, Nicole Farhi surrenders to the summery South of France, where she grew up. That's when her clothes get all floaty, feminine, and indistinct. At other times, the heart of asoixante-huitarde, a radical chick caught up in the intellectual ferment of Paris in the 1960's, beats in her breast. Fortunately, this was one of those moments, because it meant her Fall collection came on strong from the instant a sleeveless coat in black patent—worn layered over another coat, this one in black wool—marched out onto her catwalk. The look was completed by leggings and patent booties. Next, Farhi offered a camel jacket, sleeves to the elbow, with a box-pleated patent and cashmere skirt. The combination of sheen and softness—partmaîtresse, part petit bourgeois—was odd but appealing. And the designer maintained the dialogue for a while, with a coat in that patent/cashmere combo (like an upscale flasher's mac), followed by a wrap coat in camel. A funnel-necked sack dress in dully gleaming black cloque kept the dressy fetish mood aloft.Then Farhi let a little Rei of moonshine into her collection, veering off into echoes of Kawakubo's avant-garderie. That explained the asymmetrical draping and bias cutting, which created strange volumes. The designer said she was looking for sculptural effects in her clothes (Frank Gehry's name came up), so there was clearly some rigorous thought at work. And it did pay off in the most rigorous pieces: a sleeveless dress in black macramé that begged to be worn at a brainiac cocktail party, another dress with the controlled chaos of black fringing going every which way. Farhi's clothes have never made a point of being glamorous, but here, she was truly mistress of her own brand of severe chic. The beaded tulle shift that closed the show glittered like dark stars.
21 February 2010
Last season, Nicole Farhi was talking about toying with eccentricity, confronting the downturn by messing with things a little. If this show's opening outfit—a lilac taffeta trench, teal bandeau, and pink shorts—wasn't truly eccentric, it was a promising start, as though maybe Farhi was still feeling the same for Spring. She cited German Expressionist Emil Nolde as an inspiration, which meant color-blocking was a key element in the collection. In fact, it was almost as if Farhi thought she should let nothing get in its way, because the shapes were simple nearly to a fault. Shifts, shirtdresses, shorts—they were canvases for the color. There was some of Farhi's signature artisanal craft here in brushstroked organza or a raffia top. Though these pieces didn't help the show deliver on its initial promise, they also didn't distract from its proposals for the easiest warm-weather wear.
19 September 2009
Long-established French designer Nicole Farhi lives in London and has a network of boutiques founded in partnership with her ex-husband, Stephen Marks, the owner of FCUK and a senior figure in the British fashion industry. Together they have a reputation as purveyors of the acceptable face of British style—clothes capable of traveling the Atlantic with an even chance of being understood by the American public.Farhi thinks of wardrobe options rather than sweeping collection statements or runway theatrics, and many British women rely on the attainable, everyday luxury of her sportswear. One of the label’s strengths is outerwear, which carried through for fall in a variety of neat-to-the-body coats and jackets, often trimmed with deep fur collars. Reversed rabbit-skin coats and distressed-leather jackets with puffy poacher pockets exude just the right note of casual confidence for busy female executives.Farhi’s up-to-the-minute formulas—cropped pants and leather boots; a flippy pleated chiffon skirt worn with opaque tights—are timeless fall options for women who simply want to look right without trying too hard. Life is complicated enough as it is.
17 February 2003