Nica hearts Summer - High Summer Collection

It seems the sun is almost ready to come out and play again! Lighter mornings and evenings have got us girls at Nica HQ all excited about the return of pretty summer dresses, pumps and summer accessories! To spread the summer love we thought we would give you an exclusive insight and trend report on our amazing High Summer collection, which is due to arrive online and in stores at the end of March. A capsule collection, Nica’s HS bags are designed to capture the fun and joy that comes with the summer sunshine.

Doing what she does best, Nica has captured the essence of vintage nostalgia in this collection with structured satchels, totes and bowler bags, as well as cute clutches and soft slouchy summer essentials. Featuring a mainly neutral colour palette of cream, beige, tan and brown the collection is the perfect partner to a vibrant summer tea-dress. Never one to shy away from colour though, Nica has added vibrant highlights of coral, orange and sage green into the collection, making it perfectly on trend for this season’s must have colour-blocking look.

The inspiring details behind the collection

Bold graphics, weaved detailing, watercolour effect prints and, of course, Nica charms make the collection particularly striking. So transform yourself to a bygone era of vintage elegance and carefree fun; think pretty pattern dresses, delicate pumps, classic sunglasses and a Nica bag to complete the look!

Available at the end of March, be sure to join our loyal friends and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to hear about Nica’s high summer arrival!



Caroline Satchel £39







Jasmine Shopper £39





Lights! Camera! Action! Nica's SS11 photoshoot

Way back in July us Nica girls packed up our favourite bags from our brand new Spring/Summer 2011 collection, jumped in the car, and made our way to sunny Hastings in Kent for our SS11 photo shoot. Following close behind was a team of makeup artists, stylists, hair stylists, prop managers and of course our lovely photographer Rebecca Miller and her team. Travelling from bustling London to heavenly Hastings saw us all breathe a sigh of relief as we entered the relaxed atmosphere at the seaside. Stopping for a quick ice cream, we were all raring to go to shoot one of the most exciting Nica shoots to date!

 

The incredible view from the beach house. Ice cream anyone?

 The location was a beautiful private beach house, set in beautiful surroundings of long grasses and with a stunning sea view. It provided the perfect backdrop for our collection. The inspiration behind the shoot was definitely to create a sense of vintage romance, full of old-world glamour and charm. The clothing focused on a 1940s and 1950s style, two eras that mastered the art of accessorizing like no other.



Our favourite shot of the day - Bo shoulder bag looks stunning. And the model looks great too...





Marco perfecting hair and make up





The inside of the beach house



The private beach house was jam packed with a mish-mash of ornaments, giving us a playground of props to work with! Some amazing vintage pieces provided the perfect story for our bags! The best, unexpected, find of the day was definitely a beautiful wooden paddleboat that was firmly attached to the ceiling. Yes, the ceiling. Realizing this would look wonderful amongst the tall grass in the field behind the house, we decided we simply had to use it, despite looks of concern from everyone else present. Always up for a challenge, us Nica girls rolled up our sleeves, kicked off our brogues and went about removing the boat from the ceiling. It was definitely a case of easier said than done! Not ones to give up, we eventually got it down and dragged it out to the field for our ‘Bowie’ shot. Needless to say, it was worth it. The shot looks fabulous!




It was a long, long walk to the paddleboat....

 


The infamous paddleboat!



As the day went on the weather went from gorgeous seaside sunshine to blustery seaside gale force winds, providing a slight setback for our proposed shot with 5 giant helium balloons. Again, taking the challenge in our stride we got the shot!



Helium balloons and gale force winds = a challenge!





Our model mastering a vintage bike and helium balloons in gale force winds, yet still managing to look stunning!



As you can see from the shots, we got some brilliant images that perfectly capture the magic and essence of Nica’s latest collection. Back in Nica HQ it was time to decide on the best shots. Surprisingly we all came to a unanimous decision about which images to use – a Nica first! We are really very proud of the shoot and would love to hear your feedback. Do you love the location and theme? What is your favourite vintage inspired prop?



Nica getting into the spirit of things



From left to right: our wonderful photographer Rebecca, Nica herself and hair and makeup artist Marco.