nicolò by Nicolo Perez debuts his first runway presentation at Bench Week Spring/Summer 2023, marking a new milestone in his blooming career as a designer
During the spring and summer seasons, flowers grow but not only in soil. The runway, too, is where you can find them blossoming with various interpretations. For an array of collections devoted to florae, one can wonder how else can this subject persist with a fresh take. The craftsmanship of Nicolo Perez in Pick Me, his collection for this year’s Bench Fashion Week, achieves this with utmost attention and consideration to technique.
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His floral core in structure
Marking this concept as his first runway exhibition, the collection stayed true to his DNA of wavy lines in boxy pieces, an equilibrium in structure and style. But this time, there is an added breath of nature courtesy of the sheer fabric and the conspicuous use of floral designs with the likes of anthurium, orchid, and trillium; as well as an elaborate use of emphasized zigzag stitching techniques—raw and real, au naturale.
In an exclusive interview with MEGA, Perez reveals, “Since before, I wanted to do a flower-inspired collection. My own interpretation of flowers. I was looking a lot at British botanical [illustrations,] orchids, flower arrangements.”
One with his nature
In the art of fashion design, technique without technicality is mere fluke. For the third spring of nicoló, the designer capitalized on following rules before bending them. “I stuck with the fabrics I was most familiar with,” he notes. “Sheer and denim. For the first time, we used nylon because it has that wrinkly texture that kind of [resembles that of] a petal.”
The blending effect of fabric on fabric from appliqués and fabric to skin from cutouts mimic abstract artworks that Nicolo personally attributes to another type of flower—the orchid. “We’re expanding on our previous techniques [and] displaying that in our designs. Appliqué technique with elaborate stitching, with patterns that mimic abstract faces of orchids.”
Adding the details of rounded pockets, swaying fringes, wavy fabric cuts, Pick Me is a testament to the 27-year-old’s spring as a blooming designer, ready to add a breath of fresh air to the landscape of Filipino designers.
Photography EXCEL PANLAQUE of KLIQ INC.
