American girl.
After years of the edgy East coast, 2016 was my first pilgrimage to the West and it changed my relationship with America forever, I can confirm the American Dream is real - like most, I don’t know what it is - but I knew there and then poolside at the Hollywood Roosevelt that I was forever going to be in love with the City of Angels. Perhaps it was the Hockney pool, memories of Marilyn or the Kale salad. What I do know is that my spirit guide is most certainly a Californian palm tree.
“I was forever going to be in love with the City of Angels”
WRDSMTH x Colette Miller, DTLA
My crush on the East and West coasts of America can be heard within the names of all of my designs. Manhattan neighbourhoods, San Fransisco districts and East coast cities all run through my Made to Order pieces as well as my debut collection Dopamine. I love the gritty undertone of these places, alongside the fashionable streets of New York, the Castro district in San Fran and the beach clubs of Miami. They are soon to be joined by my second capsule collection Stardust. These new pieces all come with Nevada namesakes.
Neon Boneyard, NV
“The history of Sin City”
The neon boneyard is a collection of the old glamour of Vegas, the former bright lights of motels and casinos. The history of Sin City curated into a showcase of beautiful relics, stacked, saved and stored into a historical graveyard - the Stardust sign resurrected and re-bulbed illuminates the Boneyard at night. It was by far my favourite piece and this beautiful sight has stayed with me. The shapes and colours of the sign left a photographic memory in my mind. The original colours faded into a dreamy pastel palette, its a colour combination I adore and it cutting into the clear blue sky is a visual I can go back to time and time again. It’s probably one of my favourite memories of Vegas, along with Seven Magic Mountains and Gwen Stefani singing the Sweet Escape. There is definitely something more interesting about the old side of Vegas than the new. Plus the drive there takes you past the row of icon wedding chapels, the stunning Guardian Angel Cathedral, cool retro Drive-Ins and Elvis impersonators.
Neon Boneyard, NV
“Motel Girl and Cheap Frills”
The flip side to glamour, the hotels and casinos inspired the names of the capsule collection Stardust. ‘Motel Girl’ and ‘Cheap Frills’ are two of my favourites, along with ‘High Roller’ a cheeky take on the legacy of the Las Vegas strip. The perfect muse for my new collection, it’s a bit sexier, the shapes and designs are a little tougher - Stardust has a touch of boudoir glamour. The new collection, just like the Neon Boneyard are objects from the past, carefully curated into a collection for the future. Saved and resurrected from a moment in time.
Palm Springs, CA
Both my internal and physical camera roll hold an encyclopaedia of American images, this picture was taken at The Saguaro, Palm Springs on the way to Vegas, the first person I spoke to when I got there was Elvis…
