Nicole Miller is headed West for pre-fall. Specifically, Miller had a gun-slinging Sharon Stone in the 1995 spaghetti western The Quick and the Dead in mind. The designer has been collecting her friend Nick Von K's talismanic jewelry (pendants of rattlesnakes, skulls, and tumbleweeds) and thought that Von K's charms would make a great textile pattern. So Miller really drove the theme home, showing eagle-embroidered stovepipes, sundown-colored tapestry prints, and fringed cotton dresses. The outerwear was a highlight. A python-embossed leather blazer with a feathered lapel, for example, hit on the western motif but didn't come across as too costume-y. Ditto goes for the russet-colored sleeveless trench in waxed cotton. We're going to put the handful of drop-crotch looks (with a heavy emphasis on "drop") in the "miss" column, but the hand-painted dress cut from figure-flattering power net should be a hit with Miller's contemporary customer.
