The 2014 World Cup may be done and gone, but Rio de Janeiro lives forever in Nicole Miller s heart. "I have some great memories," she said backstage of her multiple trips over the years to the wild Brazilian city. Her Spring 2015 ode included a runway made to look like Copacabana s Portuguese pavement sidewalk: a wavy black-and-white stripe that showed up on a side-slit pencil skirt and a belted trench, too.
The opening look—a crepe ruffle-hem dress with a cross front—was one of the strongest, thanks to its playful silhouette and enticing tropical floral print rendered in shades of peach, jade, and coral. There were plenty more prints, including a fractured design Miller called "origami pineapple," which looked especially dynamic printed on a pair of high-rise single-pleat linen shorts. They were worn with a white poplin shirt, its wide sleeves hitting just below the elbow. Miller played quite a bit with ruffles, sewing them onto the hems of skinny skirts and stretchy, body-con dresses. (She made a point of minimizing pouf, though. These ruffles were flippy, not froufrou.)
A French version of Peter Allen s "I Go to Rio" played during the finale as models made the final walk with vintage suitcases in their grip. At that point, the primary urge was to book a ticket.
