DRESSING YOUR BEAUTIFUL SOUL

ETHICAL FASHION ENTREPRENEUR NICOLA WOODS GAVE UP A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN INSURANCE TO FOLLOW HER DREAM OF BECOMING A DESIGNER. HER BEAUTIFUL SOUL BRAND, SHOWN AT LONDON FASHION WEEK’S ESTETHICA, HAS BEEN WORN BY LILY COLE AND GABBY YOUNG.

Nicola Woods has just moved her ethical womenswear label, Beautiful Soul, to a studio off Portobello Road. Her shelves are filled with copies of Vogues, « great for inspiration », and the backbone of her company: original Japanese kimonos.

Woods’ interest in kimonos came during the trip to Japan that kick-started her fashion career. For 11 years, she worked as an insurance broker. One morning, whilst sitting under a cherry blossom tree in Tokyo, she realised she needed to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion designer.

Woods enrolled at the London College of Fashion, class of 2008. A pattern-cutting student, she struggled with drawing, instead directly draping her clothes on dummies. During her last year of college, while researching Vivienne Westwood, she discovered that the Dame created most of her collections directly on small-scale dummies. Woods’ graduate collection, Smallprint, was entirely done on such dummies before being produced for the catwalk. It paid tribute to Japan with coats and dresses with highly detailed, exaggerated collars and silhouettes.

In the following seasons, Woods refined the concept. She now takes the kimonos apart to give them a new life. Working with kimonos can be limiting because of the width of each panel of fabric. Since each kimono is unique, each Beautiful Soul garment is a one-off piece. For lining, Woods uses vintage saris and peace silk. She also creates coats in British wool sourced from Izzy Lane.

Woods’ clothes will stand the test of time. For fastening, she favour ties made with kimono chutes, meaning that even if the customer puts on weight, she’ll still be able to wear her outfit in 20 years time. Multi functionality plays a key role and pieces can be worn in a multitude of ways.

For summer 2010, Woods was inspired by Puccini’s Madam Butterfly. The Miss Butterfly collection includes jackets which can be turned into skirts and light, short coats in vibrant colours. The winter 2010 collection, No. 3 is a tribute to Japanese fashion legend Yohji Yamamoto. Heavy coats and dresses will be available in a palette of red, black and white.

Thanks to her new studio, Woods has just launched a bespoke service, Beautiful Soul Bespoke. Customers can visit by appointment and be involved in every step of the garment making, including choosing the vintage kimono personally.

Beautiful Soul’s e-store, Ascension, Junky Styling and the Victoria & Albert museum currently stock the brand. Beautiful Soul has proved popular with V&A visitors, who like seeing historical kimonos in the Asia galleries before buying Woods’ garments in the gift shop. She is looking into new stockists, mostly high-end boutiques and department stores.

For her summer 11 collection, Woods plans to launch a menswear range made of navy blazers. Womenswear will include shades of purple, a recurrent colour in Beautiful Soul clothing, and some vibrant orange.

beautiful-soul.co.uk

Words Lucie Goulet

Related Websites

• Ranting and raving a little bit on Town and Country Fall Fashion issue First, I love Town and Country magazine. It is easy to read, usually has some great fashion and jewelry in...
• Antique Postage Stamps Stamps -> Worldwide -> Postal History When it comes to collecting stamps, most collectors dream of being able to find...
• Ed Hardy for Women Perfume Collection User Reviews Send this to a friend Ed Hardy for Women Perfume Collection Manufacturer: Ed Hardy Customer Rating: List Price:...