Nickel-A Jacket for Your Denim
Nickel designer William Beranek is looking to capitalize on the white-hot denim trend, but he’s not interested in making jeans. “I wanted to supply something for the denim world, but I didn’t want to be just another denim line,” he said. To Beranek, a line of hip, tailored jackets with unique touches and a rock ’n’ roll sensibility seemed like just the thing to pair with premium denim.
Formerly the designer of the women’s contemporary lines William B and deb-elyu, Beranek came up with the concept and launched Nickel in 2004. The line of jackets features fitted shapes, attached seams and set-in linings. Although the primary focus of the line is women, Nickel also offers a small collection of blazers for men each season.
“Every season, I’ll add something special to the line,” Beranek said. For Spring, he made shrunken vests lined with vintage band T-shirts and is offering a matching pinstriped three-piece “rock ’n’ roll” suit for women, with the jacket and vest lined in rock T-shirts. “The pieces can be worn together or sold as separates,” he said.
Nickel’s jackets are made from a variety of materials, including washed linen, wool and cashmere knits, leather and cotton twill. The body-conscious cuts, from short trenches to military-inspired blazers, are offset with playful linings.
Vintage T-shirts, tie-dyed cotton, printed satin and cotton screened with the Nickel logo or a catchy phrase all find their way into the jackets. For Spring, Nickel is offering reversible washed-linen blazers with a printed satin lining. “We found some boutiques were displaying our jackets inside out because the lining was so interesting,” he said, “so we decided to make a reversible jacket.”
Beranek says these special touches appeal to his client, whom he describes as “any modern woman who can afford to pay upwards of $450 to $750 for a jacket.” Nickel is based in Alhambra, Calif., and is carried at Barneys, Fred Segal in Santa Monica and Ron Herman. For more information, call (626) 943-0051. —Erin Barajas
