London Fashion Week and Pantone have partnered to celebrate the life of designer Richard Nicoll by creating a new colour chosen by his close friends - Nicoll Blue.
The entrance to LFW's new central hub location, The Store Studios at 180 Strand, has been painted this colour to honour the London-born, Australia-raised designer, who passed away in October 2016.
Nicoll graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2002 and emerged as a member of London's new wave of talent, winning prestigious NEWGEN sponsorship in 2006, as well as three Association Nationale pour le Développement des Arts de la Mode (ANDAM) awards.
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The designer, who showed collections on London's catwalk for nearly 10 years, was acclaimed for his modern sportswear and relaxed tailoring, bringing a thoroughly modern spin to menswear.
Outside of his eponymous label, which he launched at London Collections Men (now London Fashion Week Men's), he brought his aesthetic eye to Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, and creative direction to brands like Fred Perry and Jack Wills. He was preparing to take a creative director role at adidas before he suffered a fatal heart attack while in Australia.
Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Colour Institute said that Nicoll Blue was "a unique blue shade in memory of an esteemed fashion designer. Modest and humble, yet at the same time lively and playful, it embodies the elegance and sensitive spirit of this much beloved designer."
What came into consideration when creating the colour? Nicoll's "innate kindness, loving soul and good natured sense of humour". Sarah Mower MBE, the British Fashion Council's Ambassador for Emerging Talent added: “Richard was a designer whose talent and character inspired all around him. He registered his affinity for the spectrum of blues hundreds of times in the collections he showed in London. For a decade, Richard’s life-enhancing gift for bonding people together contributed immeasurably to the spirit of a whole London fashion generation. The visual presence of Nicoll Blue throughout the main fashion week venue is a way to remember and celebrate a great London friend and to convey our respects and eternal gratitude to his family.”
A minute's silence will be held ahead of the Central Saint Martins show on Friday 17th February, and planning has begun for a retrospective exhibition of Nicoll's work later this year.