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| Photography by Lucas Seidenfaden |
Wide-eyed London College Of Fashion recent BA graduate Nova
Chiu took her collection right back to her roots. Bright coloured, hand beaded
creations were the centrepiece of her 6 (3 in the exhibition) piece Shangri La,
ethnic inspired line-up. In an ode to her family she recalls; "my parents and
friends back home are always pleased with what I make. They always want to know
what i'm working on."
Nova is here today with her soon to be design partner Jeff
Archer; the pair met whilst on a design placement in NYC at Anna Sui, '"the best
thing we got out of it" they say. A permanent smile is etched onto her face and
with good reason; the collection looks incredible. Oversized bright coloured
blue and red bead and bell embellished fur coats and a heavily hand crafted top
dominate her space, twinned with intricately printed leggings and beaded
boater-esque, eye-catching, eye-covering heavy hats to boot.
Chiu is particularly proud of her recent appearances in
print including the Evening Standard and The Independent. “People stop me in
the street” she says, “they know who I am!” I for one can say a lot more people
will know who she is after today.
So what does the future hold for Nova Chiu? Having only just
graduated BA, an incredible achievement in its-self, this little dynamo has big
dreams; “I want to have my own studio in London” she announces. Like many other
young designers, alongside her stint at Anna Sui, Chiu has worked previous
placements at Matthew Williamson and Richard Nicoll. We spent the rest of our
meeting chatting reminiscently about intern days and grab a Hummingbird cupcake
to keep us going.
“Are you going to celebrate tonight?”
“Yes, I think so” she replies, it has been a long journey
but she is ecstatic with the final outcome.
Text: Madeleine Ayers