Wendy Nichol (Q3680)
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Wendy Nichol is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Wendy Nichol |
Wendy Nichol is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Wendy Nichol was her own muse this season: She designed her new spring collection by hand at home during quarantine. It was a deeply personal and meditative experience for her, and she incorporated the third eye symbol into the embroidery on several pieces, explaining that it is symbolic of “rising in your power and opening up your vision to what your soul’s purpose is.” For the look book, Nichol modeled the sexy, corseted minidresses and gowns in her SoHo neighborhood and aimed to create a visual narrative around self-empowerment and the inherent magic of fashion.Beyoncé wore one of Nichol’s romantic, flowing gowns for a prominent scene in the music filmBlack Is King. That ethereal dress was a forerunner to some of the sensual pieces that she showcased here, especially the long gray strapless gown with a corseted bodice. She screen-printed third eyes onto soft, sultry tulle minidresses too, and created a billowy silk burnout tortoise-print slip dress that was as covetable as it was well-tailored. The eyes were strategically placed in front of her breasts and her butt, which Nichol said spoke to ideas around female empowerment. “Instead of you looking at them,” she said, “they’re looking at you.” Overall, this was an eye-opening (pun very much intended) view into Nichol’s personal world.
18 September 2020
Around six years ago, Wendy Nichol’s daughter was diagnosed with something calledsynesthesia. It’s a medical condition that combines one sensory pathway in the brain with another so that you can, for example, simultaneously smell or taste something you are looking at. In Nichol’s daughter’s case, she sees color when she reads numbers or letters. This was the starting point for the designer’s very personal collection, which she mostly constructed on her own.Nichol’s clothes this season are a bit crafty, and she is deeply proud of them. At the preview for Spring 2020, she spoke about asking her daughter to read the colors of her muses’ names. Each dress is a direct reflection of the Wendy Nichol women—some black, others blush pink or shimmery gold. Nichol’s daughter’s color was a mix of red and blue, and she models her dress in the look book.The garments themselves are beautiful, not only because of the handiwork in the mismatched top stitching and the delicate bows and ruffles decorating the backs and necklines, but also because they are, as a group, a departure from Nichol’s typically goth-like work. She did design a new line of black leather hats and bags, as well as a cropped leather jacket with ankle-length fringe, but mostly this new collection had a dreamier, more romantic approach. It’s a different direction that seems to also be appealing to a fresh audience: according to Nichol, Beyoncé’s stylist has already ordered a custom version of one of the dresses.
16 September 2019
This season, Wendy Nichol went home. The designer and store owner is about to celebrate 10 years of her eponymous label, and as such, she was feeling a pull toward the comforts of the past and the familiarity of the space she’s built for herself in fashion. Thus, Fall 2019 was about stripping things back and revisiting some of the silhouettes that she considers to be her greatest hits: minimal slips, robe dresses, and bra tops. Nichol’s new collection is only made up of 11 pieces, and yet it feels impactful, more so than some of her outings in the recent past. She introduced a new line of shoes: pretty house slipper–inspired slides and platform sandals designed in black, white, and python. Nichol also dipped her toes into menswear, something she hopes to expand on in the coming seasons. If the handsome outerwear and trousers she showed were any indication, her pursuit in this category will be a success.The entire collection fit in well inside the serene gallery and home belonging to collector and artist Michael Bargo. Exquisite pieces of mid-century furniture decorated the space and really highlighted the clean lines of Nichol’s clothes. As the Bowery roared below, it felt like a home away from home. Peak hygge in a noisy world.
14 February 2019
Instead of a fashion show, Wendy Nichol organized a get-together, inviting her nearest and dearest, plus a few models and cool girls, to a duplex penthouse at one of New York’s most beautiful downtown hotels. Nichol walked guests around the crowded space, pointing out artists and DJs wearing clothes from the Spring 2019 collection. She also set up a rack inside one of the bathrooms and invited partygoers to dress up in whatever they wanted for however long they wanted to wear it. The concept was fun and irreverent, though it was a bit difficult to really get a sense of what the clothes were about. That being said, she did print her ownGotham Timesnewspaper with each of the looks. The headline read: “Wendy Nichol SS/19 Collection Premieres at Beekman Turret Penthouse.” And just below it: “Goth Mother Gathers Gang of Wild Children to Rooftop.” That last bit pretty much sums up the entire thing. This was mama Wendy’s raucous, mysterious, black nail polish– and sparkly tights–wearing world, and we were all there to party in it.The clothes were definitely cocktail hour–ready, with a focus on sensuality and nods to lingerie design. Nichol created silky bra tops and matching fitted skirts that looked incredible on the range of different body types mingling in that room. A blush-colored button-down minidress and one made with a delicate sheer white fabric appeared chic, too. Nichol has a pretty straightforward aesthetic that doesn’t change too much from season to season, and there’s nothing wrong with that. For Spring, she simply wanted her “wild children” to let loose, feel confident, and drink and dance the night away. Fashion needn’t be so serious; sometimes all you want is a little black dress.
13 September 2018
It was a serene setting inside Wendy Nichol’s Soho store yesterday evening. The designer was much more soft-spoken than usual, especially considering her last two presentations and their fiery, passionate, protest-driven themes. Nichol is taking a break from politics at the moment. She explained that for Fall she wanted to pour all of her heart, soul, and focus into the clothes without tying them to a single theme or social issue. It was nice to see Nichol take this approach because, as admirable as her fashion-driven activism has been in the past, it was clear that the messages of resistance got top billing over the actual garments. That’s not to say her designs aren’t striking or noteworthy—because they always are. This season, however, one was really able to dive into the detailing, the construction, and the fabric without thinking about how it might be worn while marching on the Capitol or devising a mystical plan for women to take over the world. Narrative wasn’t important to Nichol in her latest offering.Without a storyline, her collection shone brightly—the buttery black Japanese leather trench, the sheer tulle floor-length dress with silk charmeuse ties at the neck and waist, and the silk long-sleeved pussy-bow blouse all stood out. So did the more youthful pieces, like the plaid square-neck minidress and the plaid bustier top with lacing on the back. Nichol mentioned that she has customers who range in age from 27 to 77, and this collection was about cautiously editing her lineup to fit all of their wants and needs. She certainly succeeded here, as the offering was tight but still felt full and diverse. She might not be rallying for human rights or fighting against the proposals of our commander in chief, but her designs always say something. No matter what, in their femininity and wearability, they speak for strong women.
16 February 2018
If the New York Spring 2018 shows had a buzzword, it would belightness. Nearly every designer used it to describe their optimistic collections, which were filled with bright colors and pretty, airy silhouettes. Hey, in the political hell we’re all currently experiencing, any dreamy, joyful moments are welcome respites. But in the absence of clothes laced with hard-hitting messages or strong notions of resistance, one does crave a little protest dressing. Thanks to Wendy Nichol it finally came today, as the sun set on New York Fashion Week, and it was admirable to see someone finally address the American chaos head on. Nichol did it more visibly through the theatrics of her presentation rather than the aesthetic of her clothes, but it felt genuine nonetheless.In the private back room of celebrity watering hole Emilio’s Ballato in Soho, Nichol had models stationed at tables and “plotting” to send a mystic F-you to Trump and his henchmen in Washington. Some were studying the fictional astrological charts of the president, Mitch McConnell, and Jeff Sessions. There was also one for Putin. Others were counting their cash like witchy gangsters (a nod to the old-school Italian vibes of the famous restaurant), playing sound bowls, and rearranging crystals around glasses of red wine. It was Nichol’s own personal dream scenario of a secret society with members dressed like goth angels ready to fight the establishment.The bulk of the designer’s collection this season was much softer and more romantic than garments that might be worn by a group of anarchists: namely the transparent black and nude silk tulle dress with a hand-draped, plunging neckline and capped sleeve. Nichol did show a sharp and slightly tougher emerald green tuxedo jacket and wide-leg trouser, though, as well as a nicely constructed, textured minidress worn over a skirt with a pinstripe underlay. Nichol never strays far from her brand’s core style, but she’s certainly adept at tweaking here and there. She’s also got expansion in mind: Soon she will launch the very first Wendy Nichol fragrance. There’s always something dark—but smart, powerful, and strong—in the wares of this passionate designer. In heavy times like these, that’s often exactly what we need.
13 September 2017
The walls of Wendy Nichol’s tiny shop on Sullivan Street in lower Manhattan are currently covered in protest signs. One reads “Racism Kills”; others say such things as “They Tried to Bury Us, They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds” and “Deport This Alien,” depicting a green-faced Kellyanne Conway. Another poster has a giant pink uterus with one of its ovaries morphed into a middle finger. “This is an antifascist show, not a fashion show,” Nichol was quick to mention when speaking about her Fall 2017 collection. “It’s about how to dress to protest.” She’s calling this season’s outing Dear America, the idea being that her models—including her half-Iranian daughter, Sofia, and others of mixed races and from different backgrounds—were able to state on a black sign who they were and how they were feeling about the current state of our union.She also had Dear America postcards ready for anyone to write their concerns in and send to Washington. These were set up close to a cheeky “You’re Fired!” stamp, which was strangely exhilarating to push down on. But aside from the postcards, the pocket-size Constitutions, and the handwritten list of women running for office in each state, Nichol provided her own beautiful suits of armor for ladies standing up in the streets. For Fall, she’s created practical velvet dusters; a smart belt bag; a velvet jumpsuit lined with pockets for supplies; a comfy, flowing silk twill dress; and a sleek leather trenchcoat. One of the coolest looks came by way of Nichol’s take on Lady Liberty—a silvery gray velvet crop top and high-waisted column skirt accessorized with a chain-embellished headband. The clothes were chic and covetable but, more important, the message was to the point and incredibly inspiring.“Don’t they look like a crew of badasses?” Nichol asked once the girls were all in formation for a photo op. The answer: Hell, yes!
16 February 2017
Wendy Nicholis no stranger to an endorsement of the nigh-deity sort—Beyoncéhas worn her wares on multiple occasions—but it was a brush with the Bad Gal that set Nichol on her path for Spring ’17.Rihanna’s team, headed up by tenor-setting stylist Mel Ottenberg, reached out to the designer about having her make a garment for an upcoming video. Initially it called for Rih to sport a sweeping cape against a harsh desert landscape, and Nichol set about creating one of the darkly romantic pieces on which she’s built her burgeoning ready-to-wear business, which includes two Manhattan stores, an impressive list of stockists, and a loyal fan base. Then the concept, as it is so often wont to do, shifted, and Nichol was left with the cape and a newfound creative yen for the extraterrestrial. Enter this collection, dubbed Signals to the Mothership.That custom piece in question was a lynchpin of the lineup: A billowing, hooded duster in luminous silk metallic, it flashes shades of brilliant blue and purple, not unlike an iridescent butterfly wing. Nichol snapped up the entire bolt of fabric, and only three of the style will be made. But even if you’re not among the lucky few to snag one, the whole of the collection was chock-full of otherworldly appeal (the designer and her team headed to the Death Valley and Area 51 region to shoot a film and editorial images this season). Draping is a new focus for Nichol, and one to which she seems preternaturally suited. Call it witchy intuition or just a great eye, but there was a liquid ease to items like a floor-skimming silk gown. She took her first steps into unisex draping, inspired by a flaxen-haired male member of her studio; the result was a spare jacket in buttery, ultra-supple leather. Pieces such as that, or Nichol’s suede trousers and cream mohair coat, served to underscore the label’s wearability for women who might shy away from her more dramatic proposals. Perhaps surprisingly, one of the sexiest looks of the bunch was the “nun dress,” an impeccably tailored black midi style with a little slit in the back, a white band collar, and a burst of pleated chiffon trim at the cuffs—spooky good.
7 September 2016
Has one of fashion’s favorite goths gone sporty? Not quite, but Fall foundWendy Nicholadding a certain sportif charm to her vernacular of beautifully witchy, period-inspired styles. Consider a hero piece of her Fall lineup, a fitted bomber (seen with a voluminous pant elasticized at the ankle, and sky-high platform boots; the effect was perhaps even a little Ziggy Stardust). Faultlessly cut, it came in sooty black duchesse satin, lined with silk charmeuse, and shoppers can have the text of their choice freehand embroidered across the back in silk thread. It was the latest in the designer’s personalized offerings, among them gold foil–stamped leather pouches and some stunning new nameplate jewelry.The bombers Nichol whipped up here, though, read “Ghost” and “Goth.” Those are two words the designer has been thinking about a lot lately, the former in relation to reincarnation (this collection was dubbed 13 Incarnations) and spectral dreams, the latter as it relates to her distinctive aesthetic. While that aesthetic is often dubbed “goth,” Nichol mused on the idea of “saying that word out loud,” as she put it, and there was a certain power to it.Nichol’s love of process was particularly evident this season, in draping, pleating, and the aforementioned embroidery. On a stunner of a coatdress, a length of grosgrain ribbon that ran through the sleeves lent a Victorian fullness. The designer took a silver metallic tulle organza and whipped it into a dreamy skirt, whose four plies of fabric and subtle pleating at the hip translated to a beautiful smoky depth; ditto the three layers used in the hood of an ethereal, transparent cape. And for more substantial outerwear, look no further than her cashmere coat, with its supple leather collar and belt. One of the biggest showstoppers of the bunch? A netted lace gown with graphic, geometric details and subtle corseting throughout the bodice. It was the kind of badass, beautiful piece you’d be thrilled to see breaking up the parade of awards season monotony.
19 February 2016
Are you a good witch or a bad witch? And furthermore, who cares about that old adage whenWendy Nicholkeeps making clothes that so neatly and lushly encompass both? For Spring, the accessories-maven-cum-cult-ready-to-wear-favorite has struck on her most winning balance since debuting her clothes back in 2011. If threads of Victoriana once were a chief characteristic of her offerings, then recent seasons have seen the scales tip toward a more general, more languid sort of loveliness.Even the pieces marked most starkly by a sense of drama were easy to envision as appealing to many different types of bewitching women. Nichol’s floor-grazing collarless duster, for example, is beloved by everyone fromBeyoncéto Saudi princesses, and here came in a lustrous, shadow-striped ivory silk, with a leather tasseled belt. Elsewhere, a showstopping Solstiss lace gown and generously fringed bustier in buttery black leather looked like you might just run the world in them.Still, not all of us clock in as royalty of one sort or another on the day-to-day, so Nichol has savvily begun rounding out her offerings with more traditionally “wearable” separates. See a pair of wide-leg pants, complete with a wafting overlay of chiffon, or a cropped tank top and tee. The designer’s impeccable fabrications, all whipped up in her New York studio, lend even those simplest of styles (including her utterly louche bias-cut skinny scarves) a feeling that’s markedly special. Best was a softly pleated circle skirt in pieced-together—not printed—black and white stripes. All inky at first glance, but take a step back and it flashed a snowy-white underside—a bit naughty, and very, very nice.
17 September 2015
What the hell isPeaky Blinders? More than a few fashion types have been singing the Netflix series' praises this week, usually in sentences along the lines of, "I wish I wasn't out here in these subzero temperatures and could just stay at home watchingPeaky Blinders." Wendy Nichol, too, has binged on the show, and its story of 19th-century British street gangs inspired her to find out whether there had been any girl gangs back in the day. What she discovered was a crew of lady crooks who worked around South London's Elephant and Castle area. They were called Forty Thieves. Nichol named her new collection Queen of Thieves, and her clothes had a polish very much befitting the upgrade to royal status.The Victorian aesthetic here felt familiar for Nichol; what came off as new was the collection's crispness. Nichol has de-witchy-fied, de-gothed, and her clothes seemed less niche as a result. There's always going to be a limited constituency for her style of ankle-length dresses and skirts, but pieces such as a corset-waist jacket or a mid-calf leather pencil skirt could easily reach a wider audience. The same was true of Nichol's terrific, fine cotton button-downs, and her long, cream-colored cape. If she really wanted to reach the masses, Nichol could—she's a canny designer. But she's also committed to a particular vision, which she elaborates through jewelry and handbags and, with this collection, showpiece hats. And women who are seeking out a nonstandard evening look will be thankful that Wendy Nichol is continuing to follow her muse. Her silver bias-cut dress exuded its own kind of glamour—a word, it's worth remembering, that used to mean "magic" and had an association with the occult. Maybe Nichol hasn't de-witchy-fied so much after all.
18 February 2015
If you're going to get sidetracked, you might as well get sidetracked by Beyoncé. Wendy Nichol—theretofore a jewelry and handbag designer—had just gotten started making apparel when Queen B wore one of her dresses in the video for "Drunk in Love." Suddenly Nichol's priorities, clothing-wise, shifted to turning out luxe-Victoriana occasion looks for 1 percenters and celebs. This season, she sought to rebalance her collection, placing more of an emphasis on down-to-earth separates and dresses suitable for wearing during the day."Down to earth" is a relative term for Nichol, who trades in a kind of high-gothic style, but it was apposite here: Items such as a tunic-length silk charmeuse blouse, wide-leg pajama pants, or a darted, one-button blazer had a timeless, dress-up/dress-down appeal. They could even be office-friendly, depending on the office. Ditto the excellent pin-pleated shirtdress in white, a piece of great insouciance finished to Nichol's impeccable standard. Elsewhere, there were more niche looks, like a super-fitted V-neck jacket or a lingerie-style jumpsuit trimmed in French lace, but even those seemed like versatile, workhorse pieces for the right woman. And overall, this collection was less about drama and more about detail, like the cluster of pintucks on a silk cotton maxi dress. The vibe chez Nichol may be a little hippie-ish, but make no mistake: She is a mistress of discipline.
10 September 2014
Ahead of starting work on her new collection, Wendy Nichol decided to build a dollhouse out of leather. Why? Because she could, that's why. And as she explained after her show, making that dollhouse inspired her to think about the women who might live in the house, and it was a short leap from that question to the answer supplied by the thirteen looks unveiled tonight. "The House of Leather" would make a pretty good name for a high-end bordello, perhaps one nestled in a bewitched bayou and populated by the most seductive, most expensive courtesans the world has ever known. And that about sums up this Wendy Nichol outing, as far as tone. Madam Nichol likes her girls empowered, though, lounging around in their yards of French lace and tulle, but embodying some female archetype as they do so. The archetypes this time out were Carl Jung's, and the clothes were lavish beyond belief. A robelike coat that, at first blush, looked like it was made from jacquard, turned out to be stitched together from three separate layers of delicate silk. The leather was all plonge, and the finale dress, in shimmering bronze, will retail for a cool $15K. It was quite a stunner, though, and at Madam Nichol's House of Leather, you always get what you pay for.
11 February 2014
After a few seasons presenting her capsule collections of ready-to-wear by appointment, Wendy Nichol staged her first-ever fashion show today. And she didn't pull any punches: Nichol has always had a taste for the occult, and this time out, she fully engaged it, mashing up Victorian Gothic silhouettes and a new-age, Wiccan vibe for a collection loosely themed around the signs of the zodiac. The look was very, very specific—though it ought to be noted that, styled differently, many of Nichol's simpler pieces, like her bustier underpinnings, leather vests, or bias-cut slipdresses could translate into many women's wardrobes. That wasn't the point, though. The woman who is looking for items such as a fitted, ribboned silk jacket with a blouse sewn into it, vintage-style, or a floor-length tulle skirt with just the suggestion of a bustle, is going to be over the moon that Nichol is producing them. Even skeptics ought to take a second look at Nichol's work: Her construction is simply extraordinary. The details she finessed for the looks in this show are virtually uncountable, and Nichol didn't stint on material, either. It's very much to her credit that the result only looks like magic.
3 September 2013
There have been a lot of tough looks on the runway this season—clothes with a discernible don't-mess-with-me attitude. Wendy Nichol wasn't immune to the trend, but her new collection put a different spin on intimidation. There was a sexy Wiccan vibe at work, one not far removed from the bohemian vibe Nichol has conjured in the past, but with a decidedly fiercer mien. The notable development was the body-consciousness of Nichol's clothes; the designer introduced new pencil-skirt, legging, and bra-top shapes, all made from soft plonge leather. Elsewhere, her more diaphanous silhouettes elaborated on looks from last season, as did the characteristically refined outerwear. Details were telling—hieroglyphic embroidery added an idiosyncratic element here and there, while the daggered paneling on several pieces underscored the witchy tone that was most overt in a slipdress of dip-dyed French lace and an Empire-waist coat in velvet. Nichol also came up with a few intriguing styling pieces, including removable fringed epaulets and fingerless leather gloves with snaps. All in all, the vision here was eccentric. But—pun intended—it cast a spell.
11 March 2013
This is Wendy Nichol's third season designing apparel, and by now, she's made a couple things clear. First, Nichol is dedicated to making collections that are capsule-size. Second, she's committed to a few key silhouettes, such as a boyish blazer and an apron-style dress. Both the smallness and the repetitiveness of her collections are in service to her borderline obsessive-compulsive need to refine her core pieces and make them ever more luxurious. The seemingly simple pieces here were freakishly luxe—to wit, an oat-toned sheer silk dress, detailed with intricate seaming and shoulder ruching, not to mention the fluid pleats that seemed to have been magicked into the garment's construction. A similar black dress with balloon sleeves and a full skirt required so much material, it made your head spin. Nichol's clothes earn their cost.Top of mind for Nichol this season was to hone her line's point of view. On the one hand, she's given an even freer hand to her romantic streak, incorporating tons of wispy silk and lace and introducing a few lingerie items, including a bra and panty set. On the other hand, lest all her sheers make you think Nichol impractical, she put the focus on short suiting and lightweight outerwear. An excellent, aggressively simplified A-line military coat came at functionality from one direction; a new range of fitted, mercerized cotton layering pieces came at it from another.One additional note: Nichol occasionally bothers to make a superb hat. This season, she collaborated with Trivial on a few remarkable styles, built off vintage Japanese hat blocks and then manipulated and exaggerated. They'll be huge for editorial, though you'd have to be daring to try some of these mega-chapeaux on the street.
7 October 2012
Wendy Nichol operates her studio out of a room at the back of her Soho boutique—a room so petite, it's hard to believe the amount of stuff that comes out of it. Nichol designs jewelry and bags, and as of last season, clothes; the fact that she sees fit to spin all those plates out of a small, serviceable space is telling, somehow. Simply put, she doesn't have room for the extraneous.The designer's new collection of ready-to-wear is thus appropriately concise. In general, she's focused on outerwear, all studiously well cut. A sharp black trench trimmed in leather, with a detachable lining embroidered in a crocodile pattern, was a standout; so too the blanket coat, with its high collar, and the fringed cream leather blazer. Elsewhere, Nichol refined and updated a few of her key silhouettes from Spring, including her apron dress and boyish button-downs. Her clothes don't jump out at you—even a sheer shirtdress in French lace had a quiet, almost monastic quality—but their details make them sing. To wit, that blanket coat, which was done in a very rich cashmere blend, trimmed in leather, and fully lined in wool taffeta. You get the sense that Nichol is so committed to keeping her range of product small because she wants to give each individual piece its due. That's an admirable stance.
15 March 2012
Over the years, as Wendy Nichol has established herself as a cult phenomenon accessories designer, it's been difficult to put a finger on her aesthetic. Her jewelry is typically spare and geometric, with a punkish edge, whereas her bags often feature lots of fringe and have a more bohemian feeling. Now Nichol has introduced her first apparel collection, and at first glance, the clothes seem to complicate matters: Where do these minimal, relatively androgynous pieces fit into the scheme of things?Dig a little deeper, though, and Nichol's worldview emerges. Simply put, she makes clothes—and jewelry and bags—for urbane women with a romantic streak and a need for stuff that just plain works. The romantic streak reveals itself in both the collection's vintage touches—construction Nichol describes as 1900's-inspired, as in a shawl-collared jacket that ties at the waist or an apron skirt—and in her fabrications, such as sheer chiffon, washed charmeuse, and handkerchief linen. You can ascribe both a sense of romance and a utilitarian point of view to the collection's easy, mostly oversize shapes. Elsewhere, the make-it-work thing comes to the fore, as in neat sleeveless button-downs and soft trousers and culottes that look like mix-and-match wardrobe essentials for next spring. Nichol's clothes are too spare to be as instantly appealing as her accessories, but upon close inspection, the handmade quality that's a trademark of her brand makes them memorable.
11 October 2011