Fashion Legend Nicole Miller Visits Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A well-known name in the fashion world spent Friday in the Twin Cities.

Nicole Miller started her Friday morning at the clothing store dugo.

The Nicole Miller label has hung in boutiques for decades. The designer says she stays relevant by moving forward and experimenting.

"I think you have to always be reinventing yourself, so I'm always trying to break out and do something different, something new and sort of not get type cast which I think is also a danger," Miller said.

She continues to evolve with the industry.

"Before I was only competing with designers, and now I'm competing with a whole different cross section, and it's a very crowded room," Miller said.

She believes her technical and art background sets her apart, and describes her clothing as being made well to fit well and feel comfortable.

Working with social media influencers is now part of the larger platform.

"They're very diverse and people get too used to seeing clothes on models. I think influencers represent a more diverse segment of the population, and I think that's important to developing a different kind of customer," Miller said. "They do help me a lot and they do, are promoting your brand."

Today's trends include metallic.

"There's embroidered metallic, prints on metallic," Miller said. "There's also some sequin dresses in silver."

And she likes that mothers and daughters often wear and share her clothes.

"I feel like people always feel young and they shouldn't be saying, 'Oh I can't wear that anymore,'" Miller said. "I never feel like I am designing for a particular age group. I feel like I'm designing for more of a lifestyle and I think my customer is very modern and modern thinking."

Miller came to Minneapolis in partnership with dugo to participate in Friday night's FashionFest to benefit University of Minnesota Health Masonic Children's Hospital. She also toured the hospital during her visit.