Nicola de Main
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[edit] Nicola de Main
Nicola de Main, the UK based fashion designer known for her simple yet beautiful collections was born in Yorkshire in the North of England in 1978 and after excelling at art during her teens, went to study fashion in Manchester. Following this, Nicola went on to further her studies at Leeds university, where she graduated with first class honours.
Whilst at college, Nicola funded her way with a T-shirt label called Kniki, which found stockists in both London and Japan. The label narrowly avoided disaster after a tutor confiscated the collection claiming Nicola was getting ahead of herself!
Alongside a couture bridalwear company, which taught Nicola many of the finer techniques used by high-end designers, Nicola also went on to work with Julian and Sophie, and Tree, Before being found by internationally acclaimed conceptual designer Hussein Chalayan.
Nicola worked for Hussein Chalayan for two years, mastering her fashion skills, and working on projects such as Fashion of Architecture, and a film called Place to passage . After leaving Hussein’s, Nicola went on to work with established fashion names including Jane How (Stylist) and Adele Clarke (footwear designer).
Nicola’s next big step came in July 2004 when she set up her own women's wear label, creating a test collection for s/s 2005 which was well received, winning her the prestigious ‘Fashion Futures young designer of the year 2004’.
[edit] The Nicola de Main label
Given the positive response to her work, Nicola launched her first full collection for Autumn Winter 05-06. One of the differentiating factors to Nicola’s collection was her use of prints, designed by James Millar (formerly of Jonathan Saunder’s) whose stunning, bold prints would form a key element of Nicola’s collections. Nicola’s focus also includes high quality fabrics such as silks, wools and linens.
March 2005 brought the next big development when Press agency ‘Spin Publicity’ took Nicola de Main on board after seeing her collection on the catwalk.
After meeting Bradley Quinn (Author, Techno Fashion and Fashion of Architecture) through Hussein Chalayan, Nicola was commissioned to create her own piece for Fashion of Architecture , an exhibition which toured Europe, ending in New York in 2006. The exhibition examined the cross fertilisation of ideas between fashion and architecture, and included exhibits by Zaha Hadid, Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto and Michiko Koshino.
Alongside more conceptual work, The Nicola de Main label has shown great success. After showing at On|Off (A show of new fashion collections from UK designers) in February 2006 Nicola has shown it is possible to be successful in the UK fashion Market, increasing her stockists fivefold, and attracting interest from many others, both nationally and internationally.
Press attention has also come to Nicola; “A name to watch... right on the pulse” (ES magazine). Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour, The daily Telegraph, You magazine, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, WIG, Flux and the Daily Telegraph have all used Nicola de Main for their fashion pages.
