Over its first two seasons, Richard Nicoll’s menswear has been a reflection of what the designer would wear himself. But for SS14, Nicoll looked to the book 1977 by Pietro Mattioli – a collection of portraits featuring the male patrons who hung out at Zurich’s first punk and New Wave nightclub – to create a gang of individual guys. “I wanted to create my own kind of imaginary club inhabited by quite different guys who have a unifying interest,” Nicoll told us after the show.
The result was tough and moody counter culture, viewed through Nicoll’s effortless sportswear aesthetic and illuminated by his trademark blue. The collection also marked the launch of S/HE, a counter label by Nicoll and Linder Sterling featuring the artist’s collages as prints for menswear and womenswear. “I found some seventies gay porn in Barcelona and sent it to Linder who treated it with serpents and hawks,” Nicoll said. The bold, graphic prints adorned pristine leather-sleeved bombers and rubberised sweatshirts add a rich and sensual feel to the collection.
