After a dazzlingly cheerful AW12 collection in the Ones To Watch showcase in February, SS13 saw Nova Chiu in a bright and breezy collection taking us from the bustle of the city to serene scenery in the countryside. The show opened with a video capturing the intriguing journeys of design duo Nova Chiu and her boyfriend Jeff Archer since their Vauxhall Fashion Scout debut, taking us through trees and rivers and breathtaking mountains.
Nova Chiu is such a wonderfully vibrant brand, and whilst these clothes may have a cleaner, more wearable cut than previous collections they are still so full of life. The prints this season are vividly atmospheric, capturing exciting adventures through dreamy distant lands.
One thing I must draw your attention to, if indeed you aren't already as besotted as I was when I first saw them, is the shoes! The playful embellishment they feature is absolutely beautiful and I love the candy colours. This playful way with texture was also present in the clothes where matte fabrics were contrasted with shimmering silk draped like ripples in a river or where stiff diaphanous fabrics were crunched up like natural forms, subtly revealing the layer beneath.
The prints in this collection are truly breathtaking in all their techni-colour glory and each time I look at my photographs from the show I spot something new in them. There's a slick, modern feel to the images and yet they also feel completely and utterly at one with nature and all the glorious beauty to be found in it.
