"The speed of wheels in motion. The momentum of a skateboard shredding through the air." The program notes at this evening s Nicole Miller show had to put you on guard: Dear God, what can this designer find to plunder in skate subculture? And anyway, hasn t it been plundered enough? But as it happened, Miller found something interesting to extract: namely, speed. Her latest collection nicely captured the frenetic energy of X Games sports. It will be interesting to see what her customers make of it.
The big story here was color. The show opened with a pair of leggings in a wildly bright patchwork print that was the visual equivalent of Jolt Cola. Wake up! Multi-stripe intarsia knits had a similar effect, as did the bright yellow, turquoise, and pink trim that Miller applied to a multitude of looks in black. The athletic references were a bit literal at times—bike shorts, racerbacks, neoprene—but for the most part, Miller did well by them. The world may not require another scuba dress (Miller s version came in black, with yellow appliqués), but it can always do with a bomber jacket as cool as the perforated leather one on the runway tonight, or a loose-fitting silk button-down in a blown-out check redolent of the black and white on classic Vans. In general, the show felt fresh and appropriately youthful.
