In Memoriam: Richard Nicoll’s Shade of Blue

Blue was a special shade to the late Richard Nicoll, whose untimely and sudden passing at the age of 39 in October last year reverberated through the fashion world with great sorrow. Nicoll was a much-loved member of the industry, accumulating respect for the subtle minimalism incorporated into his work, alongside a firm grasp on the mastery of drapery and tailoring. His personality, as is corroborated by those who met him and indeed, even those who didn’t, radiated with kindness and energy. He exemplified what it meant to be a fledgling fashion designer in London during the mid 00s.

Nicoll employed various hues of blue in many of his collections after making his debut at London Fashion Week in 2006, with particularly notable moments including his A/W14 Womenswear and Menswear shows. Selected by his close friends and developed by the Pantone Color Institute, a brand new shade of blue entitled Nicoll Blue has been created in order to honour the late designer – and during February 2017’s London Fashion Week, the Arundel Street entrance to 180 The Strand, home to Dazed and AnOther offices and the central show space for LFW, will be painted with the colour. Alongside this tribute, a minute’s silence will be observed ahead of the Central Saint Martins MA graduate show later this week, where Nicoll was an alumnus. With his name forever inscribed upon the creative industries, and with plans underway for a multifaceted, retrospective exhibition of the designer’s work to launch later in the year, it’s certain that Richard Nicoll will live on in memoriam for many years to come.