STYLISH DISORIENTATION
Patricia Nicolás
Madrid-born jewelry designer, London it-girl, and the blogger behind Stylish Disorientation. Surrealist lips and eyes you cannot find anywhere else.
Patricia Nicolás once called this site, and I am quoting her 2010 self, a cute blog that was very up and coming. I have decided to take the compliment and keep it forever. She was, even then, one of the most charming people in London fashion, a Madrid jeweller's daughter who turned surrealism into things you could actually wear: red lips on a chain, a pair of green eyes, a monkey climbing a palm. We first spoke when she was still known mostly for her blog. The it-girl years were just ahead of her.
Born Among Gold and Diamonds
She grew up, almost literally, among gold and diamonds. Her family has designed and made jewelry since 1945, as the owners of the Nicol's store in Madrid, so the trade was in the house before it was in her. She finished her studies in Boston, then moved to London and to Central Saint Martins, where she started her own collection. Her pieces marry noble materials, gold and semi-precious stones, with far less conventional ones she keeps exploring, methacrylate, feathers. The runs are small, sometimes a single piece of each, and they have been worn by Sienna Miller, Beyonce, and Kate Moss, and featured everywhere from Vogue to Dazed.
Stylish Disorientation
Then there is the other career. Spanish Vogue crowned her a new it-girl, Alexa Chung followed her blog, and Vogue.es liked it so much they asked her to write for them, which is how Stylish Disorientation became one of the most-read things on the site. She runs her own jewelry magazine too, Mad Jewels Journal. Blogging, she says, is a way to pull people into a brand, to sell not just the object but the life around it.
Lips, Eyes, Monkeys
The work itself is gloriously unserious in the best way. She likes big statement pieces, the kind you can only wear with something plain, a neutral black, and she means it when she says it is fun. Her favorite of her own collections is the one she calls The Boyfriends. The motifs are pure pop surrealism: kissing red mouths, watching green eyes, a coconut palm with a monkey swinging off it. In 2011 Topshop named her one of the five most creative jewelry designers in the UK, and three collaborations followed, including The Art of Kissing, all smiling colored mouths turned into necklaces and earrings. An exclusive with YOOX came next. At her Madrid store, you can even take a workshop and make your own.
What I like most are big pieces, things you can only wear with a simple look. It's fun.Patricia Nicolás
From the 2010 Interview
Patricia Nicolás, in her own words
What makes your work unique?
That I make something you can't find elsewhere. I sell in very exclusive boutiques and make very limited numbers, sometimes only one of each piece.
Your greatest inspirations?
My father. My life and studio in East London. London is such an inspiring place to be.
The challenges of what you do?
It's hard to start a business from scratch, especially as I'm not from London. My family, friends, and contacts are all in Spain, so I'm quite alone here.
Who is the girl you design for?
Someone between 25 and 45 who loves fashion, who wears high fashion but also loves basics. Basically, a simple girl with great style.
Favourite artists?
I love alternative music, I'm in love with Basquiat, and my favourite photographer is my friend Viktor Vauthier.
A fashion icon?
Chloe Sevigny.
You have to differentiate yourself. It's not just about selling. You have to be original to create a brand.Patricia Nicolás
Stylish Disorientation, Vogue.es
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