Nicholas Kirkwood’s Lost Generation
Nicholas Kirkwood’s collection of fall shoes is a nostalgic, ’20s Parisian fantasy. “It’s about the characters of the period, like Coco Chanel, Jean Cocteau and Picasso. We didn’t want to do a collection that exactly depicted that era, so it’s more how you’d imagine it,” explains Kirkwood, who said that he was drawn to the ’20s because of its romance and his love for couture details.
Kirkwood’s fall woman is feminine, with a few wild quirks. The Kirkwood lady can choose from pointed suede cap-toe pumps, rabbit fur lined boots with black and white ostrich-feather chevrons, and a range of velvet styles with iridescent accents. Pop-y fall colors, like sapphire, rusty red and neon yellow, were key, as were laser-cut waves that gave the shoes a cool graffiti edge.
The designer has had a busy fall 2012 season, crafting runway shoes for the likes of Peter Pilotto, Erdem and Roksanda Ilincic. For his own shoe line, Kirkwood placed a focus on embellishments, creating enamel sculpted with black and gold bows, or accenting the back of his pumps and sandals with frills or feathers. The highlight, however, is Kirkwood’s loafers and booties in velvet, brocade and leather with Picasso-like faces stitched across the toes. The booties come complete with ponytail zip pulls crafted from real hair—an homage to Elsa Schiaparelli.
In addition to debuting his fall collection, Kirkwood reveals that he will be opening a store in New York this month. According to Kirkwood the boutique, which will be posted on Washington and Gansevoort Street, shall serve as a cousin of the London store, rather than a twin. The new shop will have a gallery feel, featuring chopped concrete floors, an eight-foot domed skylight, and even a garden. Kirkwood is not stopping at New York—he plans for the boutique to establish several more new stores around the globe.
