After a diaphanous collection for Spring, Nicole Miller was ready to shift gears. "Spring was so soft," she said at her studio yesterday. "I moved in a more architectural direction." She was thinking in particular of the film Gattaca, a sci-fi flick that seems to have made a bigger impression in the world of fashion than the world of cinema. Uma Thurman—the kind of girl with a boyish edge who appeals to Miller—was her muse. The little white collars Thurman wears in the movie appeared in the form of the new basic Miller proposed: a sleeveless little collared blouse.
The structured lines and uniform sensibility of future-world attire mixed with the glamour and sensuality of forties references to give the collection an against-the-grain feel. In the past few seasons, Miller has proven adept at marching in lockstep with her fellow designers and delivering on trends. Here she s off on her own, even if she did create a stylish version of the wide-legged pant that s been a runway fixture for some time. The independence suited her. The silhouette she s proposing—shoulder-padded to the nines—feels fresh again. Some of her more aggressive geometric angles are a little overstated, but not a menswear-styled sleeveless blazer, worn with wide trousers and one of those collared shirts. You could see that as standard-issue for the armies of the next millennium, whether they re fighting Gattaca-style genetic discrimination or waging plain old corner-office warfare.
