Digital Manipulation - NIKICIO

I fell in love with Nikicio's collection from the moment I found her lookbook photos while browsing on the internet and I'm very glad to have met her when she was in town in Singapore during the Blueprint tradeshow that took place in May. For her SS12 collection, Nikicio brought forward wallpaper florals cut onto tailored, clean silhouettes. I especially liked the tailored floral blazer with denim front pockets and sleeves - it's a simple yet effective way of incorporating denim into workwear. Besides the tailored pieces, the pleated chiffon maxi skirt and draped maxi dress also showed Nikicio's keen attention to detail and fabrics. 

Nikicio showcased her newest Mixte Fall/Winter 12 collection: WAR during the Blueprint tradeshow and I was drawn to the intriguing print on the clothes that was reminiscent of melted metals mixed into a whirlpool and the androgyny nature of the designs in contrast with her previous SS12 collection. Nina Nikicio revealed to me that the prints was actually a photo tited "Ocean Waves" by a long time collaborator photographer Evelyn Pritt. The prints were beautifully paired with black leather vests and metallic silver jackets. The prints gave an impression of chaos, but yet also of rebirth paired with cream and ivory white knits and simple tshirts. 

A significant departure from previous Nikicio collections that were more feminine and suggested a state of fragility, this collection strengthens Nina Nikicio as a versatile designer and brave perpetrator of digital prints and collaborations with other artists as her label is known for. I conducted a simple interview with Nina:

NakedGlory: How did you manage to set up your own label?

Nina Nikicio: Back in 2007, when I was still working in Singapore, Jonathan Seow of Woods&Woods created Studio Prive. There were 7 of us and we were allowed to create our own fashion labels, under his guidance. It was a stepping stone I needed to make my mark and the rest was history.

NG: What is your design process like and where do you get your inspiration from?
NN: I travel a lot and having a boyfriend who is a DJ also helps. I usually gather my thoughts and then share it with my assistants, then we do the fabric sourcing and printing because I can't design without fabrics, and usually my designs will be based on the specific types of fabrics that I can obtain. There has to be a certainty or I would get lost. But usually concept and inspirations come from whatever is close to me at that point in time.

NG: Are the fabrics used for Nikicio all sourced and manufactured in Indonesia?
NN: Not all of them, we still import fabrics from China and Korea but most fabrics come from Bali.

NG: Is Indonesia a good place for young independent designers currently?
NN: Yes, definitely. There are hundreds of new labels just started this year alone and the demand of them is quite high. Although we still need to educate the customers, that our clothes are as good as any high street labels out there.

NG: Tell me more about the Nikicio Project - is that designed by seasons as well?
NN: It is a idealist project of  mine, they are not designed by season nor genre, but whatever artists I was into or inspired by at a current moment. Our last project was one year ago, and it was a collaboration between 5 photographers.