#NicaTravels: Nica Kim Heads to Paris Fashion Week

I think that Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and there’s no more of an exciting place to be than in the city of lights during Paris Fashion Week. So, that’s exactly where I headed to soak up the culture and derive a little design inspiration.

You can’t visit the French capital without hitting its shops where there’s something for everybody’s tastes. I did what every tourist does and strolled along the Champs Élyséé, then headed over to one of my favourite department stores, the iconic Galeries Lafayette.

It’s not just its luxurious offerings and inspiring visual merchandising that I love but its magnificent building also. The attention to detail in its decoration is breath-taking and it’s almost worth a visit just to see that. Plus, you need to check out its roof top café where you grab lunch whilst soaking up the beautiful Parisian landscape.

Paris is filled with famous sites and on a clear day it’s lovely to just wander along the Seine going from one to the next. You can’t visit Paris without taking an Eiffel tower selfie, and a must visit for me is the beautiful Sacre Coeur cathedral overlooking Paris which is perfect for taking a few photos. 

Have you ever visited the love lock bridge? It’s a very cute tradition whereby lovers attach a lock onto the bridge with their names doodled upon and throw the keys into the river. It’s become quite the tourist attraction over the years which has resulted in so many locks being attached to its walls that some have even collapsed and fallen in. 

So, you can’t be in Paris during Fashion Week without heading to a catwalk show and I was lucky enough to attend a show at the Palais de Tokyo, an amazing location with fantastic views of the Seine and the Eiffel tower just outside. 

Have you been keeping up with the Paris Fashion Week news? Which trend are you most looking forward to? Why not tweet us @Nica_Handbags and let me know.

Love,
Nica x 

Nica's Travels: Discovering the Origins of Prints in South Korea

by Nica Kim

From reading my blog posts, you've probably already realised just how much I love to travel and how it inspires my designs… Well, I'm away on my travels once more, and visiting my homeland South Korea for some more design inspiration!

As you know, I love designing my own original prints, and yesterday, I visited a local exhibition which explored the history of different kinds of prints, and looked at how they can find their way from a piece of artwork to decorating a garment. Look at my example below, the idea for the dress' pattern began as a simple piece of art. 

Stripes
The stripe pattern has stood for many different things over the years, from being worn by prisoners, clowns, and slaves as to differentiate them from normal citizens during the middle ages to the eventual creation of sailors’ outfits for the French Marines. - That’s why we call it the Marin look!!

Stripes became a global fashion trend after Coco Chanel was inspired by Marines’ shirts and incorporated it into her collection in 1917. Stripes have since been loved by Style Icons such as Audrey Hepburn, and artists like Picasso and Andy Warhol rendering them the icon of youth and energy! 

Andy Warhol's Iconic Look:
Image Source

Florals 
Flowers blossom in splendour and quickly fade away whilst leaving their beauty and scent behind, and this has inspired different areas of art including poems, music, and even fine art. It was the more affluent of society who firstly wore a standardized kind of floral print, until the industrial revolution boomed and Britain started to produce their own kind of floral print. This eventually led to the more commercial prints that we have today. 

Look at this artist's angry flower sketch which was transformed into the appliqué dress below. It may not be a floral pattern, but it's a great example of how the use of flowers are still evolving in modern day designs.

My own prints are often inspired by nature, and I re-invent my floral patterns each season. One of my favourite designs for A/W 13 is my watercolour print, inspired by both nature and some of my favourite artists who work with watercolours! 

Prints make a great addition to your A/W wardrobes, but which do you prefer - a classic or a print handbag? Why not tell us on Twitter @Nica_Handbags with #ClassicVsPrint. 

Love Nica Kim,

x x x 

Behind the Nica Bag: Traveller

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”

- Anaïs Nin, American Author -

My last few blog entries have been about venturing into the great outdoors, such as visiting enchanting gardens, vintage fairs, or even about my trips abroad to Hong Kong and Seoul. I evoke upon these kinds of trips not only to inspire the designs of my new Nica Handbags, but because I just love learning about different cultures and ways of life.

Image Source

Image Source

As soon as I begin packing my case, I start imagining what'll happen to me during my travels, and that influences which items I'll take along... I'll need comfy shoes, a camera, some vintage jewellery, a scarf, glasses, and little vintage clutches, of course! I find this process really exciting. 

Image Source

I always encounter so many interesting people with such different personalities upon my travels, whether it be during a lovely country escape or a city break. There are always some kinds of hurdles to overcome but luckily I've always had positive experiences, and each time, the people who I meet help me to see the true beauty of nature, love, friendship, and fun! 

I wanted my A/W 13 collection to project a glimpse into the beautiful scenes and people, as well as how I felt, upon my travels. 

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”        

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson's Essays -

We are now turning a variety of pages in the book of our lives, and in the words of St. Augustine, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page!” I hope that you can have a real voyage soon as to re-discover some of the real beauty of life :-)

Love, 

Nica Kim

Xxx