Dolls help to fashion success for Niki

Published on Thursday 6 November 2008 08:42

WHILE most little girls would be content playing with their dolls, venturing to Toys Galore or Jenners's toy department for new outfits and playing dress-up with the miniature ensembles, Niki Taylor from Livingston went one better.

She got out her sewing kit and made her dolls their very own fashions – even though she was just eight years old.

By ten, she was scouring the Capital's fabric shops looking for unusual materials and patterns to create her own clothes. By 12, Niki had written to her idol Vivienne Westwood asking for a job. Fast forward to 2008 and the 35-year-old has been hailed as an "up-and-coming star of style" by fashion bible Vogue after her recent show at London Fashion Week, and celebrities such as Lauren Laverne are firm fans of her Olanic label.

"It's amazing to have that said about you," she laughs, almost embarrassed. "I kind of don't believe it. I have worked really hard for years so it's nice that the hard slog has been worth it.

"It's all on the back of London Fashion Week, which I did recently. It was a lot of hard work, lots of mishaps that happened in the lead up, but I just loved it. From styling the hair, creating the look to deciding on the make-up and music, it was an amazing feeling to see them on the catwalk."

She adds: "It is safe to say that since London Fashion Week I have been getting more attention.

"The fact I put on a catwalk show for the first time helped to open me up to a wider audience and I do believe a lot more people know about Olanic now.

"The press attention is great and having Vogue say I was 'one to watch' helped my credibility. It is a really exciting time."

Niki, who went to James Young High School in Livingston, has always been obsessed with clothes.

By the time she was a teenager, she knew her Dolce & Gabanna from her Dolcis and dressed ahead of her years, emulating altogether different designer looks.

"When I left school I wanted a creative job but I wasn't entirely sure what," recalls Niki. "I went to Telford College and did interior and graphic design, as I could turn my hand to a lot of things.

"To be honest, I didn't ever think I'd make it as a fashion designer. That was something that happened to other people, so I went to do something more practical."

But, in her interior design classes, Niki was creating fashion boutiques and in graphic design she was creating clothes, prints and textiles.

"It was funny, whatever I did for that had a fashion slant – so it was obvious what I should have been doing."

From there, Niki studied at the Scottish College of Textiles for four years. Then came her first break.

"I got a job in Glasgow as a designer for a surf and snowboarding company. I got offered the job before I left my course. It was a small independent label but I was the sole designer, so it was such a great learning curve. I did everything from point of sale, graphics, working on patterns to photo shoots and selling at shows. It was a great start in the fashion industry."

After two years, Niki became a freelance consultant for high street stores such as Marks and Spencer, but went it alone in 2004.

She continues: "I was getting a great reaction with the things I was experimenting with so, in 2005, I decided to put a full range together of dresses, tops and trousers for a Paris show."

The industry took notice of Niki but it wasn't until her catwalk debut at this year's London Fashion Week that the buzz started, courtesy of her practical yet sexy styles with a directional, tailored edge using traditional fabrics, contrasted with feminine tailoring and a simple colour palette. The label has now featured in both British and American editions of Elle.

"That show probably was my proudest moment," she says. "I loved being able to create the whole look, to decide what the vibe was to be, how the hair should look, the make-up and even what music should be played.

"The whole experience was amazing. It was an unbelievable feeling to see all those people watching my show.

"I was also told it was one of the most anticipated shows at London Fashion Week. I don't know if I believe that, but it was nice to hear and, since the show, the response has been amazing."

But Niki's feet are firmly on the ground. In fact, when she's not working on Olanic, she's designing shoes for Schuh from its office in Livingston.

"Most fashion designers need to have another income, it costs a lot of money to produce clothes and put on shows," she admits.

"It is a myth that we don't need to do any work other than what we do on our own labels.

"So I work four days for Schuh and then the rest of my time is spent on Olanic and that means most evenings and weekends.

"Being a fashion designer is not all glamorous. It's a lot of hard work."

But it's definitely paying off, with Niki wowing audiences in Japan and working in collaboration with Scots firm Mackintosh, which makes raincoats for the big designers. Other firms include textile firm Calzeat & Co and knitwear specialists Lochcarron.

"The catwalk show was based on collaborations with other designers and there was a group of us Scots all out there.

"I collaborated with Mackintosh, so I designed my own Macs with my own twists on the traditional. It's important to me to enhance the traditional Scottish heritage and the amazing fabrics, but bringing it up to date.

"People have a really old-fashioned view of Scotland, so it's great to be showing a new design palette which opens up the world to Scotland more and our fabrics and manufacturers.

"There is a great buzz about Scottish designers right now. There's a lot of talent coming out of Scotland."

So what's next for the West Lothian designer? "I don't know. Catwalk opens you up to more opportunities so I'm seeing what opportunities come along. I'll see what fate has for me. That's all anyone can do."