Nicole Colovos

Nicole Colovos is a New Zealand-born designer, stylist and editor whose early career included work at Harper’s Bazaar before she co-founded the denim label Habitual with Michael Colovos. That background in editorial styling and denim became central to the next stage of her career when Link Theory selected the pair to rebuild Helmut Lang after acquiring the trademark from Prada.

Nicole and Michael Colovos were appointed jointly in May 2006, with contemporary reports using both design director and creative director for the role. Their first assignment was the Spring/Summer 2007 relaunch capsule, followed by a regular New York collection system spanning women’s, men’s, resort, denim and accessories. By 2010 their day-to-day focus had moved strongly toward womenswear as separate menswear leadership was introduced. They also oversaw the commercial period in which the lower-priced HELMUT line launched in 2012.

The Colovoses presented their final Helmut Lang collection for Fall/Winter 2014 and left in late February that year after nearly eight years of joint leadership. In 2016 they launched Colovos, returning to an independent structure built around their shared interest in material, denim and pared-back wardrobe design.

Colovos approaches fashion through a close reading of material and the everyday wardrobe. Denim, leather, jersey, knitwear and technical cloth are used to give familiar pieces a sharper line, with surface and construction carrying much of the visual interest.

At Helmut Lang, she and Michael rebuilt the label as a contemporary New York sportswear business. Their collections developed slim tailoring, asymmetric jersey, layered knitwear, engineered denim and leather outerwear into a commercially broad wardrobe, with handbags and accessories added as the business matured.

Her styling background gives the work an editorial clarity: garments are designed to hold a complete look with little theatrical presentation. In the later Colovos label, that interest continued through reduced palettes, textural fabrics and precise proportions shaped for repeated wear.