Live, caged animals; clowns; fire breathers; and human cannonballs, all set to music that sounds like it's coming from a child's wind-up musical box... Like the Neverland Ranch, there's something strangely eerie about the fantasy worlds born out of circuses. There's an aura of mystique, an underbelly the audience doesn't see. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. Glasgow-based designer Niki Taylor drew inspiration from the dark side of quirky, performance related art forms in her distinctive spring collection, which takes its cues from the magic and mystery of the circus.

Emerging talent she may be, but Taylor has quite a few notches on her belt. Though she first made her name with the Stilli—an innovative sock boot that can be placed over one's heel, transforming any shoe into a boot—she created Olanic in 2002 and was soon dubbed by the Times as one of the top ten fashion names to watch. Olanic—an anagram created from the designer's real name, Nicola— first debuted at Rendez-Vous, Paris and London Fashion Week, eventually earning her the New Talent title at the 2006 Scottish Fashion Awards. With a keen eye for sculpting and tailoring as well as a professed love of streetwear, Taylor has a knack for taking classic silhouettes—shorts, dresses, one-piece jumpsuits—and making them completely modern by way of impeccable fits and offbeat prints.

Her "Surreal Circus" collection for spring sticks to a mostly monochromatic palette of grey, black, and white, which Taylor infuses with purple patchwork and stripes. Structured, high-neck dresses get a kooky twist with striped pockets, and while the thought of wearing a one-piece 80's era jumpsuit may scare the bejeezus out of most girls, Taylor crafted one in black that cinches and cuts in all the right places. Quirky, effortless, summery frocks—I'll wear mine to Coney Island, but that's as close as I'm getting to the circus.

For more information please visit www.olanic.co.uk.

-Kristi Garced

Similar Topics:Emerging Designer, fashion, shopping, spring 2008

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