Nicole Miller

Nicole Miller is an American fashion designer and businesswoman.

Miller attended the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Apparel Design. She studied for a year at L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne where she was trained to drape fabric and study the classical techniques of couture. Miller described her Parisian training as "intense", but explained that it gave her training in fabric manipulation, which became a signature of her designs.

Miller's first shop opened in 1986 on Madison Avenue. The brand has grown to 20 boutiques in major cities across the United States. and is sold in a number of high-end department stores. Miller designs an extensive collection for J.C. Penney and a home furnishing collection for Bed Bath & Beyond.

Of her style, the designer has said: "I've always been downtown and uptown. I've had a lot of artist friends and I was always a little bit of a renegade." Her modern design aesthetic is known for its bright prints and patterns.

Miller was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Miller's father and her Parisian-born mother met in World War II. Her father was an engineer at General Electric. Her father was great influence on young Miller; she attributes her ability to make clothing to her father's engineer-like mind. Miller said: "The way you figure out how to make something is engineering."

Her mother, on the other hand, "hated" living in America and insisted on dressing her daughters in a French-influenced style. When Miller was asked by the Mattel toy company to design a Barbie doll, she claimed to have never owned a Barbie herself because her mother insisted that she and her sister play with French dolls. Since December 2009, Miller's Barbie has been featured in an ongoing exhibit, Barbie: The Fashion Experience, at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

After completing studies at the L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne and graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Miller interned with dress designer Clovis Ruffin in New York City. Miller began working as head designer at P.J. Walsh, a dress manufacturer. There, she was hired by the president of the company, Bud Konheim. Konheim said one of the reasons he hired Miller was for her belief that design and business can be successful in combination. In 1982, Konheim started the company Nicole Miller with Nicole.

Her signature style has historically been black or boldly colored—with the cut of the clothes most important. Her main concern has always been proportions, curves and necklines. Her designs are known to be sexy, yet classic. She is a self-identified fabric junkie credited with popularizing many futuristic fabrics. Her styles range from body-conscious cocktail dresses, to wedding attire, to lounge wear, but she is best known for her form-flattering dresses and men's neckties.