Nicole Miller is headed West for pre-fall. Specifically, Miller had a gun-slinging Sharon Stone in the 1995 spaghetti western The Quick and the Dead in mind. The designer has been collecting her friend Nick Von K s talismanic jewelry (pendants of rattlesnakes, skulls, and tumbleweeds) and thought that Von K s charms would make a great textile pattern. So Miller really drove the theme home, showing eagle-embroidered stovepipes, sundown-colored tapestry prints, and fringed cotton dresses. The outerwear was a highlight. A python-embossed leather blazer with a feathered lapel, for example, hit on the western motif but didn t come across as too costume-y. Ditto goes for the russet-colored sleeveless trench in waxed cotton. We re going to put the handful of drop-crotch looks (with a heavy emphasis on "drop") in the "miss" column, but the hand-painted dress cut from figure-flattering power net should be a hit with Miller s contemporary customer.
