Report by Carrie Gorman
If Richard Nicoll, Ashish and Danielle Scutt are to be believed, we’re all going on a summer holiday. Tahitian inspiration at Nicoll, a cruise-ship rota of vacation hot spots ticked off at Ashish, and flamenco hems and Spanish topknots at Scutt all point to an exotic tourist trend for Spring/Summer 2010.
Except that this season it’s born of fantasy and childhood memories, in place of far-flung research trips. Gone are the days when designers sauntered off on expensive overseas jaunts in search of inspiration. Had Nicoll journeyed to French Polynesia for his Tahitian-inspired ideas? “I thought only John Galliano did that!” he said.
Ashish, mindful of the economy, but craving a year following the sun, had his protagonist win herself a cruise on HMS Queen Camilla instead. “I need a holiday. Desperately,” said Ashish. “So I went into a fantasy dream-world of escapism to achieve it. That’s what a girl needs right now, right?”
Danielle Scutt accompanied him on the staycation. The idea for her frilled apron skirts, pompom scarves and layers of transparent blouses was taken from postcards of Spanish dolls with appliqué netting, sent to her as a child. “I kept them – about 25 of them – because there was something incredibly charming about them. And also a bit naff.”
Along with Pauric Sweeney’s inventive amusement-arcade grab-a-gift installation at On/Off, sofa-surfing tourism is a building theme. Something tells us it’s not because of the carbon footprint.

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