Cheryl Shops

Where & When: Friday, September 11th at 6 p.m., the Salon, Bryant Park
Runway Recap: While her contemporaries have come and gone and come back again, Nicole Miller has been quietly plugging along since the early '90s, no mean feat for an independent designer. The key to her success has been making flattering, wearable clothes for real women's lives--blouses and pencil skirts for work, pretty dresses for evening--but instead of resting on the laurels of her loyal clientele, Miller continues to challenge herself and push her designs in new directions without forsaking their accessibility. As her program notes announced, "The girl has a tougher edge, pushing forward body consciousness...experimenting with new technology." While weaving draped bits of digital-looking prints throughout, Miller showed very close-to-the-body looks, from fitted motocross jackets to banded skirts and dresses with their ruched fabric tightly wrapped and twisted around the body. She also played with floating georgette and slinky satins, contrasting their fluidity with structured, stretchy scuba and twill fabrics. With the exception of a pair of seamed white leggings, the entire collection was wearable (even the ruched bike shorts were a thoughtful, practical interpretation of a hard-to-wear trend) and, more importantly, interesting. With work like this, I can't wait to see what risks Miller takes next season.
Standout Look: This stretch leather biker vest, layered over a tank and a silk twill skirt with a printed panel demonstrates the essence of the collection: structure vs. fluidity. The practicality lies in the asymmetrical drape of the skirt, camouflaging the hips with a pretty swath of fabric.
Bonus Points: Miller pulled out all the stops with this one. My seat, in the third row, had my name and website printed on back of the chair (a first for me), and happened to be directly behind the celeb trifecta of Ciara (now with long hair), Amerie, and Amber Rose (a.k.a. Kanye West's girlfriend). Props to them for being able to see what went down the runway, because the flashbulbs from the cameras swarming them pre-show were so bright, I had to pull an Anna Wintour and put on my sunglasses.
Where to Buy: Click here to find a store near you.