Long known for opening New York Fashion Week since 2014, this season the sister and brother duo behind Nicholas K have decided to take a new approach. For the Spring/Summer ‘18 collection they will launch with a more visceral presentation pictured in the very place which served as the designer’s inspiration for the season.
Due to a massive fire over Labor Day weekend in the Manhattan building where their design studio & showroom were located, the brand has now moved in position to launch on the last day of NYFW. The brand was able to salvage their server and most of the new collection, however a lot of damage was done and most of their archives destroyed. They have moved to a temporary studio/office location and will now release the collection digitally on Wednesday, September 13th at 10:00 AM, in collaboration with IMG & the official NYFW. Nicholas and Christopher Kunz will debut their SS18 collection via the label’s Instagram account, @NicholasKstudio. Each look will be released one-by-one during their usual time-slot, however this season the press can take a leisurely coffee and eschew the drama of finding their seats.

“As an alternative to a traditional Fashion Week runway debut, we wanted to collaborate off-site with someone we felt shared our vision for design, sustainability and conservation, while also having a memorable experience” explains Nicholas. Inspired by the futuristic natural architecture of Azulik, a sustainable Luxury Eco retreat located in Tulum, Mexico; the new collection reflects the natural beach and jungle environment that has made the area so popular for dreamy Instagram shots. The brand will be shooting its campaign and lookbook at Azulik in late August, amidst a traditional Mayan ceremony and a show in the hotel’s new on-site boutique, ZAK IK for its retail debut of the collection. The images will serve to visually answer the all important show question- “ what was your inspiration.”

AZULIK, meaning “Blue Wind” is a combination of Spanish and Mayan words. The collection reflects this color palette of vibrant endless blue skies, tropical plants and white sands beaches of Tulum. The collection features fabrics perfect for the warm weather it was meant for, including sandwashed silk, puckered organic cotton/ linen, cotton artisan handloom Ekats and tencel jerseys, seen in solids as well as prints such as jungle camo and zebra butterfly.