QVC Recruits Nicole Miller for New Collection

Rosemary Feitelberg
·6 min read

As ultra-casual commuters rushed along Seventh Avenue under a dreary, gray April sky, flights above in her showroom, Nicole Miller previewed her colorfully springlike collection for QVC.

At least 20 years have passed since the New York-based designer last trekked to West Chester, Pa., for a home shopping venture selling jewelry on-air. Now, the soon-to-launch “Nicole by Nicole Miller” exclusive line brings together QVC, Miller and Gordon Brothers, which took a majority stake in her company in 2022. The 14-style assortment will debut on-air and QVC’s site on May 3.

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When the prospect arose, Miller said she thought it sounded fun and would be a good way to meet new people. Also, she already had insights and positive intel from her QVC-selling friends like designer Dennis Basso, a 30-year veteran with the company, and skin care specialist Peter Thomas Roth. To prep for this week’s on-camera hourlong debut, Miller has been busy doing media training. “It’s fun to do something different. We’re not doing runway shows anymore,” Miller said. “It’s all good for the brand, and I’m meeting a lot of people.”

She also likes the idea of being on-air, and has been primed to be comfortable, authentic, honest and act as though she is talking to a friend. Turning to the racks of styles that draw from runway prints, Miller said, “I’m bringing a little bit of runway into their closets. I think, ‘Why should inexpensive clothes be ugly? Inexpensive clothes can be beautiful.’”

Miller declined to comment on projected volume for the QVC line. A spokesperson for her said, “QVC does not disclose this information.”

Globally, QVC and HSN reach 216 million homes via 15 TV channels including approximately 92 million in the U.S. The QVC+ and HSN+ streaming service is available in 100 million-plus internet-connected homes nationwide.

An avid traveler, Miller routinely creates prints inspired by her trips such as stops in Paris; St. Barths; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Cambodia, and the Chateau Marmont and Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. The designer had even recreated the Chateau Marmont to present her spring collection in March of 2021. Other runway-like styles in the QVC assortment include a elongated polyester version of the designer’s boyfriend shirt with pearl buttons, a cotton-Lycra ruched dress, roomy-leg pants with a crewneck top, and a printed blouse inspired by French watercolors. “They really managed to capture all of the watercolors in the printing. You always worry when someone is printing on another fabric that it won’t come out as well. But these have come out really nicely,” Miller said.

Denim is well-represented, especially super stretchy styles. A little black dress, ruffled blouse and printed coverup that could be worn day-into-night, or over a swimsuit are also in the mix. The collection, which is being produced by one of Miller’s licensees, will offer inclusive sizing from XXS to 3X. It will retail from $39 to $89. Miller is keen to bring the clothes to other people. “Everybody is so appreciative. Last time I was on [QVC] everybody was so appreciative of that,” she said. “The customers were calling in. It was a very positive experience.”

Carolyn D’Angelo, senior managing director at Gordon Brothers, noted how the deal plays into QVC’s “This is the Age of Possibility” campaign, which is geared for women 50 and older. “This is going to get Nicole back out to perhaps a new consumer. QVC, to me, is an entertainment vehicle. You are watching programming. They just happen to be selling things. It’s a great vehicle for Nicole to tell her story. It’s an amazing story.”

Although Miller’s portfolio covers categories far and wide including home decor, the QVC deal is just clothes for now and another delivery is already planned. “All of the licensees want to get in on it now,” Miller said with a laugh. “[They have asked] ‘Well, could you sell our pajamas?’”

Inspiration for future collections could stem from an upcoming trip to Portofino, Italy, for a wedding and then a jaunt to Albania in June to judge a design contest. Miller will travel with her friend Candace Bushnell, the author of “Sex and the City,” whose one-woman signature show “True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex and the City” is headed for Winnipeg on May 10. Miller and Bushnell will be pitching in at the design contest that is being organized by one of Miller’s former runway models, the Albanian-born Emina Cunmulaj Nazarian. The Muza Competition 2024 will be held June 20 in Albania’s capital city of Tirana. Miller then plans to head west to the coastal town of Durrës on the Adriatic Sea.

The invitation was extended when Miller and Nazarian reconnected while helping to judge the Miss USA 2023 contest in Reno, Nev., last fall. Patrick Starrr, Vivica A. Fox and Countess Luann De Lesseps also acted in that role for the competition at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino’s Grand Theatre. More recently, Miller participated in a Los Angeles event that showcased Chinese and American designers and brands that was presented by China U.S. Fashion Week and Yue-Sai Kan’s One World Foundation. Miller was also a presenter at the New You Beauty Awards in Miami a few weeks ago.

The designer is considering going on a cruise in late August that the footwear designer Vanessa Noel is organizing to benefit the signature shoe museum that she hopes to open. The cruise from Palermo to Greece will make stops amid the ancient ruins will feature insights from a historian about the footwear and designs that were worn.

Miller will be joining Fern Mallis in a talk at the Canoe Place Inn & Cottages in Hampton Bays, N.Y. And for expanded social media reach, the designer will be hosting a lunch for fashion influencers in July in the Hamptons. In terms of broadening products, Miller has ramped up her home decor offerings, which includes bedding, glassware, kitchenware and towels and hosted a Home Summit in March to plan spring-summer 2025 product development. She is also rolling into menswear. Sports shirts and dress shirts are now available, and neckwear — ties and bow ties — will be launched this fall.

Miller has seen just by walking around New York how “the general public is not dressing up very well. Years ago, if you walked down Seventh Avenue, everybody would be dressed very chic. But not any more. Everybody just looks like a slob walking down Seventh Avenue for the most part,” she said. While many still dress up to go out to events, the dressed-down trend doesn’t appear to be ready for a recalibration, according to the designer. Pleased with how the Nicole by Nicole Miller collection came together, especially its pretty colors, the designer said, “I hope the customer will like it.”

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