Q&A: Nicole Richie Is Inspired By Maharajahs

For their 20th anniversary party in Toronto on Thursday, May 12, luxe label destination TNT invited one of their biggest designers, in reputation if not in size, to help celebrate. Nicole Richie, the petite 29-year-old celebutant-turned-designer, attended a party hosted by FLARE columnist Dan Levy at the franchise’s Hazelton Lanes location. After touring the newly renovated 18,000-square-foot space, Richie sat down with Flare to talk about her boho chic clothing line Winter Kate.

FLARE: You’ve been to Canada a lot, most recently in Calgary last fall.
NR: Yeah! My [design] partners are from Montreal. And I’m just a huge fan of Canada. I love it here and everyone’s so nice.

FLARE: When you’re designing your line who do you think of as a great person to wear it?
NR: As a designer I think it’s always important not to design for one specific person. When I started doing the line, I was of course designing for myself. From traveling a lot and doing personal appearances, meeting buyers and really getting familiar with my customers, my customer is definitely a well-rounded, educated woman who loves fashion and wants to wear statement pieces and wants to have fun with it.

FLARE: Do you ever have a nothing-to-wear moment?
NR: Really, I wear the same thing a lot. I just change accessories to try to mix it up a bit.

FLARE: And what is inspiring you right now?
NR: I’ve been looking at a lot of pictures of maharajahs and I love their colour palette, love the fabric in their clothing. That’s something I’ve been kind of obsessed with.

Tags: Celebrity, Designer, Interview, Nicole Richie, Opening, TNT, Toronto