We sat down with cover model and owner of Eschel Fashion, Nicole Pickering, to speak about her recent cover of L’Officiel India, and how she got started as a business owner in Dubai.
Quick Facts:
Date of Birth: April 26
Zodiac Sign: Taurus
A quote from your favourite author: “Speak only if it improves upon the silence” – Mahatma Gandhi
Your favourite book? ‘Think & grow rich’ – Napoleon Hill
Man with money or drop-dead gorgeous look? Man with money
One international brand, you would like to be the face of? Chanel
Your biggest fear? Not achieving all I want to achieve in life
You have a fetish for? Intellectual minds
Have one OCD for? I am very fussy with my home being organized and tidy
One guilty pleasure? Pasta
Your favourite cuisine? Middle Eastern cuisine
Your favourite destination: USA
Define romance: A love interest doing something very personal and specifically to one’s wants just in order to make them smile.
Background
When Pickering, a full-time model, originally from Sweden, moved to Dubai in 2009, she realized the fashion industry there wasn’t as expanded as in Europe. Due to this, she decided to look at different ways of creating career opportunities for herself. She explains her mother was a model as well, in her youth, so she always had an interest in fashion. She knew she wanted to continue in the industry somehow, and business had also been a passion of hers. This is when the idea of Eschel fashion was born.
Eschel Fashion
In 2012, Pickering opened the boutique in downtown Dubai, just a short walk away from the UAE’s biggest landmark The Burj Khalifa. Then in late 2019, with the success of Eschel’s online sales, the team decided to move to digital HQ and focus on the website. Pickering says Eschel pieces have been worn by fashionistas and influencers all over the Middle East, as well as worldwide, and have been seen on the pages of most people’s favorite magazines. Most recently Eschel fashion was even worn by the model-turned-designer herself, on the October 2020 front cover of the world-renown fashion magazine, L’Officiel India.
L’Officiel India
Originating in Paris in 1921, L’Officiel magazine has been baptized as ‘the Bible of fashion and of high society.’ Achieving a feature, let alone a cover on this magazine is an accomplishment that many hope for throughout their career. “I’ve always been diligent, driven, and motivated from a very young age to work hard, so landing the cover of L’Officiel India, and having my brand being recognized by such a huge magazine in such a big market like India, was a dream come true for me,” said Pickering. She goes on to explain that the Eschel website has a multi-brand concept, stocking consignment of some of the most loved quality brands in clothing, cosmetics and accessories. Pickering is inspired by the most fashionable and iconic women, yet understands that the price of most designer brands is not affordable by all, so she created a line that would give everyone the opportunity to dress in some of their favorite catwalk looks at an accessible price.
With the current boom of online sales, due to people having less and less time to shop in person, Pickering explains Eschel’s gift cards have been experiencing a recent increase in sales. The beautifully designed A3-sized gift cards arrive in a luxury gold envelope that can conveniently be delivered to the buyer or the receiver’s door, and is the perfect gift idea for a friend or a loved one. “ Gift cards’ amount are set in the local AED currency and the price shown includes 5% VAT,” explained Pickering.
The best way to stay updated on Pickering’s modelling and fashion-designing career is to follow both her personal and business instagram accounts @nic_crypto and @_eschel_