Advanced Fashion Technology Farewells a Pioneer

Before reaching his prime Richard Nicoll decided to leave this world most probably in search for new horizons. At the age of 39 Mr Nicolls competed in game changing contributions with consecrated and revolutionary designers of the past such as Cristóbal Balenciaga and Coco Chanel. Nicoll who took a modernist approach to fashion creation, favoring candy colors and sculpture like models will be remembered as the godfather presiding t=the marriage between fashion and technology. Appropriately enough, his pass away took place on the very same day Silicon Valley was staging its fashion week. And he was not only mentioned but mourned at the event that promotes greater penetration by technology of fashion.

Nicoll’s determination to further the merger between technology and haute couture met great success in 2012 when- in joint venture with Vodafone- he created a handbag capable of recharging cellphones. This has been regarded by most women as a major contribution to their wellbeing given that most are addicted to the battery-feeble I Phones. Going around with a bunch of cables in your purse not only fails to be elegant, it simply is impractical, particularly when you have to literally hunt for a power plug. Nicoll creation was thus as liberating for women as the little black dress and pants by Chanel or the bare look by Mary Quant.

And as the fashion world came to terms with the loss, in San Francisco the Silicon Valley Fashion week event continued its course. This year it was staged by Betabrand, a San Francisco clothing company which crowdsources design ideas. These are validated through social networks which rate models. Those with best ratings are crowdfunded for production.

Creations by Betabrand include a “mind the gap” blouse that stretches to fit the body; a dress with reflective material; and “the softest khakis you’ll ever own”. The event presented myriad ideas for wearable technology embellished with fashion designs. And as Millennials insist on exclusivity in design and uniqueness in color, technology can cater to their taste through applications that change material color and design at wearer desires. Nicolls saw this world at the dawn of the 21^stcentury. This is evident in the patterns and shapes of his collections for Topshop and Fred Perry.

At Marc Jacobs he concentrated in asymmetrical patterns while at Cerruti in designs that seemed to have escaped from a Kandinsky canvas. He will be dearly missed by distinguished Millennials such as Keira Knightly, Julianne Moore and Siena Miller who adopted his creations with passion and gratitude.