Peter Copping has been the artistic director of French fashion house Nina Ricci since 2009. Having previously spent twelve years working under Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, Copping has been putting his experience to good use, shepherding Nina Ricci's growth by playing to the House's romantic heritage while keeping an eye on wearability.

Singapore Tatler catches up with the British-born designer while he was in Singapore recently and finds out how he plans to transform Nina Ricci's fashion-world appeal into a truly global brand.

 

Peter Copping

 

Singapore Tatler: How has Nina Ricci evolved since you've come onboard?

Peter Copping: What I've done over the last four years is to redefine what the style is for Nina Ricci. I've given consistency to all of the collections since I've been here, and now after four years, people understand what the House stands for. I think that we havenow  arrived at the point where we have to take the brand even further, by communicating more about it and developing it in a bigger way.

 

Singapore Tatler: How do you plan to achieve this?

Peter Copping: That could come from opening more Nina Ricci standalone boutiques across the world. At the moment, we only have one store in Paris and another free standing store in Dubai, so there is really a lot of potential in terms of what can be done. And not forgetting any other avenue that allows us to tell more consumers about our brand.

 

Nina Ricci Fall 2013 Collection 

 

Singapore Tatler: Where do you see Nina Ricci being positioned in Asia? Do you plan to create designs catering specifically to the Asian market?

Peter Copping: I think Nina Ricci can definitely appeal to Asian women and people living in Asia. Because of the appreciation (in Asia) for femininity and the colour palette, I believe that we have a strong future in this part of the world.

Personally I don’t think it is necessary (to create designs specifically for Asians). If the collection is well-balanced, it will have items that will appeal to any market.

 

Singapore Tatler: How important is cross-cultural exchange in fashion?

Peter Copping: I think it is extremely important. I always believe in getting out there and visiting countries in order to understand the different markets. I previously did an event at Club 21 (in Singapore) and met some of our customers. It was very interesting to meet the women and listen to what they had to say. I’ve done similar events in New York, Los Angeles and London. It's always very important because it gives you an idea of the perception of the brand and what women are actually looking for around the world.

 

Nina Ricci Fall 2013 Collection

 

Singapore Tatler: What's your take on the fashion scene in Singapore?

Peter Copping: I've only seen a small part of it, so it's very difficult for me to make a proper assessment. But I think women (in Singapore) enjoy clothes, they definitely like dressing up and are very international. I met an American woman who was living in Singapore at the Club 21 event and another lady who was from India. So Singapore is like a big melting pot of people – with a lot of individuals coming from all over the world – I think that’s good for any market.

 

Singapore Tatler: Who or what inspires you?

Peter Copping: My inspirations come from anywhere, such as watching films and going to exhibitions, but I think life in general inspires me. Walking around, looking at people, all the things that I see and observe, I find a lot of inspiration in this. I also buy a lot of books on all sorts of topics – photography, art, materials and fashion – this is a good source of inspiration too.

 

 

Photo: Nina Ricci Singapore/Club 21