The term garden party comes with a specific set of associations. For her Resort 2020 collection, Nicole Miller wanted to update the idea. Prim fashion has its place, but Miller is more interested in the ever-evolving wardrobes of New York’s downtown girls. This season that meant an exploration of florals, leopard prints, and, oddly enough, take-out bags; Miller paid homage to the ubiquitous “Have a Nice Day” plastic totes familiar to anyone who has ever visited a bodega by splashing their messaging onto loose tanks and the backs of denim jackets. The plastic reference came with an environmental message. Miller’s interest in sustainability was the impetus behind recent pieces like Fall’s upcycled cashmere sweaters; here she couldn’t resist giving the recycling logo its own shout-out via a gauzy singlet.
Symbols aside, the collection’s focus was florals. Asymmetrical skirts, ruched dresses, and cropped jumpsuits featured all manner of flowers from oversized roses to a vintage print straight out of the archives. The latter came courtesy of a longtime client who’d preserved pieces from Miller’s first collections for decades and reached out to the designer. “She had saved all these dresses from the 1980s, and back then what I was designing was so big with shoulder pads and oversized proportions,” Miller said at her garment district headquarters. “She gave us 12 or so pieces, and it just felt right to include one of the prints in this collection—this time on a streamlined look.”
Blooms are always cheerful, but Miller mixed things up to add visual interest. Some pairings were more successful than others—a reversible leopard-and-rose quilted overcoat provided an appealing transition piece—but the styles were uniformly upbeat. Brief forays into glittering leopard spots and denim on denim provided moments of contrast and a glimpse at how real women will be wearing things. Fail-safe outfits like a slinky sequin slip dress paired with a boyfriend blouse or a frayed-hem jean jacket layered atop a long skirt connect with the way women style themselves for garden parties and beyond.
