'Easy opulence', 'textured simplicity' and 'modernist romance' were the attractive contradictions that Richard Nicoll threw about before his A/W 2014 presentation. A shorthand to the sentiment of 'aspirational realism' that felt spot-on for this particularly sunny Sunday morning (although we still concealed fold-up umbrellas in our bags), as the designer opened his show with a cool blue leather and fur-trimmed bomber, zipped up over a matching pleated mini, and finished with metallic slip-on loafers. This was an unanimous 'yes' to unwrought style, carried through to his double-breasted tailoring, cable knit dresses and ribbed capes that swung casually from model's shoulders. Nicoll then changed gear and joined London's hemline debate, matching his 1960s-inspired mini against the post-war midi - cutting the latter liberally in metallic boucle, plaid wool and clipped-fur, all of which were pepped up by Manolo Blahnik lace-up booties. Then it was onto an array of house signatures - this season the designer's colour-blocking effect married the textures of leather and raw denim, while his conceal-and-reveal pleated skirts were slashed and filled with transparent chiffon or organza. Leaving us equally as taken were Nicoll's two-tone woollen coats, in either teal blue or burnt rust, rounding out his winter colour wheel of plum, grey, gold and navy. All of which offered just enough detailing to make each exit feel special yet effortless.
Photography: Jason-Lloyd Evans
