Richard N (sitting on green chair backwards, 2 faces)

Richard Nicoll (1977‒2016), fashion designer, was born in London but spent much of his childhood in Perth. Aged seventeen he returned to London and enrolled at Central Saint Martins college, initially undertaking a foundation course in sculpture, ceramics, and fashion. He completed a BA in menswear design there and then did a Masters in womenswear under revered professor Louise Wilson. His entire graduate collection was purchased by Dolce & Gabbana. After graduating, he worked for Lanvin and Louis Vuitton in Paris before launching his own label in London in 2005. He made his London Fashion Week debut in 2006 and presented his collections there every year up until 2015, counting Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley, Lily Allen, and Sienna Miller among the devotees of his designs. He also collaborated with artist/designer Linder Sterling to create costumes for ballet and dance, produced capsule collections for brands including Topshop and Sportsgirl, and was a creative director at Cerruti and later Jack Wills. Named Best Young Designer at the Elle Style Awards during London Fashion Week 2009, Nicoll's other accolades include three Association pour le Développement des Arts de la Mode prizes and twice being a British Fashion Council Vogue Fashion Fund finalist. After closing his own label in 2015 Nicoll returned to Australia and settled in Sydney. He died there, aged 39, in October 2016, shortly before he was due to take up the role of creative director at Adidas.

Gift of the artist 2023
© Howard Tangye