Archive for Tori Nichel

Mission: How Good Is Your Hair?

November 2009 at 11:45 pm · Filed under Hair, Tori Nichel

Perfectly coifed updo, check. Tightly coiled ringlets, check. Chicly sculpted bob, check. Yep, a good hair day is every girls dream.

rihanna_hair

Just the other day in an elevator a blond straight haired, blue-eyed 20-something lamented to her friends how her golden locks were “so unmanageable” and how she refused to get a perm, but couldn’t hold a curl to save her life. In response, they gasped and shuddered as if in agreement that they understood her plight.

Not all of us can be a hair heiress, so unless you are hair royalty and inherited a voluminous, frizz-free ‘do, you have some of the concerns that many women do today. Whatever your hair fairytale, there’s no denying that certain hair worries are more than just having a bad hair day. They can be cultural, too. That said, could one’s race be at the root of it all when it comes to good or bad hair? Read the rest of this entry »

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Eva Mendes at Buddha Bar

October 2007 at 2:37 pm · Filed under Designer Dossier, Tori Nichel

Eva Mendes graciously welcomed the guests at Gotham Magazine’s October Issue launch at the Buddha Bar in NYC last night. I am ashamed to say I’ve never been to the Buddha Bar in NYC until last night. It was a pleasant surprise — I’ve been to the Paris location many times, but what happens in Paris stays in Paris!
On the scene to promote her movie We Own The Night with Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg, Ms. Mendes was the woman of the evening. Eva is as beautiful in person as she is on the glossy pages. She appeared very upbeat, bubbly and full of smiles.
She was wearing a beautiful vanilla silk chiffon gown with jet black details and trim on the neckline which looked simply lovely. I am still perfecting my novice talent of photography, but this is what I was able to get for you before a security man stopped the photo ops.
If seeing Ms. Mendes wasn’t enough, as I was leaving, I saw Reggie Miller, retired shooting guard for the Indiana Pacers casually relaxing with a friend. One might ask how a fashionista like me knows so much about a basketball star that I can tell you his position.
Well, fashion was my first love growing up and basketball my second, thanks to my big brother. I must say the sighting was quite odd but he had an interesting twist to his fashion ensemble. Reggie was wearing Chuck Taylor All-Stars with his camel corduroy sports coat and medium rinse jeans. It was a good look for him, especially since basketball stars are generally a bit of a fashion faux pas. ~ Tori Nichel

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Week 1: Inspiration and Concepts

October 2007 at 2:20 pm · Filed under Designer Dossier, Tori Nichel


Week 1: Inspiration and Concepts

The first stages of the design process are gathering all sources of inspirations that may strike my fancy. This could be anything from a postcard, flower to a building or a person. I enjoy anchoring collections around a historical female icon that could influence the modern chic women (i.e. the Tori Nichel customer).
Then there’s the fabrics. I started my career as a fabric researcher at Dana Buchman and part of Michigan State Design Degree was in textiles, so I have a natural obsession with fabrics.

French Kimono Mini Dress

My initial sources of fabric inspiration come to life after numerous trips to my favorite place in the garment district, Mood Fabrics. They have an amazing range to choose from and if that’s not enough for you, they recently added novelty trims and buttons to their offering making them one of the only one-stop shops in the New York garment district, the nerve of them right! Once I’ve identified my fabric direction I start pairing my domestically sourced fabrics with my European selection.

Then I design. I design into my fabrics. Some designers prefer to design their garments first. There are no rules. The best and worst thing about this often fickle industry is that everything is subjective.

Thanks to Elle magazine, my jumpsuits have been my signature piece of the collection so each season I give my customer a new take. This season, you will find my “Militant Jumper” in eggshell white stretch cotton faille.

French Militant Jumper

The parisian paisley silk jersey dress fabric is an evolution of the best selling spring dress/fabric in Spring 2007, featured in Lucky magazine’s November issue. The fabric is soft to the touch, with amazing drape. The new colors were inspired by La Baker’s famous banana dance.

Parisian Paisley Enya Dress

Stay tuned for fittings and a trip to the sample room, where the concept begins to be executed and brought to life. ~ Tori Nichel

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Spring 2008 — La Baker: The Encore Presentation

October 2007 at 12:07 am · Filed under Designer Dossier, Tori Nichel


Here is Tori Nichel’s first entry in the Designer Diaries, which includes the inspiration boards for her upcoming spring 2008 collection, La Baker: The Encore Presentation, inspired by the avant garde dancer and songtress, Josephine Baker.

If anyone is paying attention, one might notice that I love to pull inspiration for the collection from women in history who had their own unique beauty and made an impact and statement in history. The famed ex-pat Josephine Baker, was the inspiration behind Spring 2008. I wanted the collection to be very sensual, very provocative.

A vintage photograph of the electrifying stage performer, Josephine Baker
and inspirational remnants for La Baker: The Encore Presentation

Countessa Baker was more than perfect — La Baker exuded it all through her music, dance and affairs of the heart. She was bold, beautiful and uber talented. I wanted spring to have impactful shots of color paired back with black and white — you will see shades of pink, tomato orange and yellow flow throughout the collection.

What can you expect from the Tori Nichel collection for Spring? New dress silhouettes will be introduced, the evolution of the fall capes, a killer pant, and the new jumpsuit! In the spirit of the Josephine aesthetic, a lot of back interest will be emphasized. Josephine’s famous banana dance inspired the grouping of illustrations shown. ~ Tori Nichel

Next in Designer Diaries — Tori Nichel unveils her preliminary sketches for the spring 2008 collection.

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