t’s a fashion maxim: Every woman needs a little black dress. But what every woman really wants is a little black dress designed by American fashion icon Nicole Miller.

Ever since she exploded on the fashion scene more than two decades ago, Miller has been associated with the “lbd” or “little black dress.” Indeed, the signature design launched the career of the Rhode Island School of Design grad who spent time honing her craft at the famed Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris before bursting onto the New York fashion scene.

Madison Panel Bed from the Nicole Miller Collection.

Interestingly, the young designer’s work appealed to both sexes: women clamored for her well-tailored, sexy, and exquisitely draped dresses, while men scooped up her whimsical neckties in fun, unpredictable prints. The quirky patterns were instantly identifiable and the neckwear quickly became a status symbol among the well-dressed of Wall Street and beyond.

In the mid 1980s, Miller opened her first boutique to better serve her loyal customers, and now operates 20 freestanding boutiques across the United States. She later made “Fashion Week” history when she opted to put well-known actresses like Minnie Driver and Gretchen Mol on the runway in lieu of models, and in so doing, unwittingly started yet another trend. Hollywood celebs have been replacing models in print and on the catwalks ever since.

Today, Nicole Miller’s following is celebrity-driven and far-reaching, and as more and more fans have come to appreciate her work, her eponymous label has grown to include accessories, cosmetics, bridalwear, lingerie, a bath accessories and soft goods line, and most recently, an exquisite collection of haute couture furniture produced in Italy by the expert craftspeople of Excelsior Designs.

Manhattan Rectangular Dining Table and Chairs from the Nicole Miller Collection. (Also pictured, Hudson Chair from Nicole Miller Collection.)

The beauty of the Nicole Miller Collection is its ability to dress every room in fresh new style, with head-turning designs that are both beautiful and easy to live with. “I’ve always collected vintage furniture, so creating my own line was a natural move,” relates the designer. “At the same time, coming from fashion, I didn’t have any biases about what would or wouldn’t sell. I came with a fresh, open view, and a relationship to color thanks to how people react to my clothing. I knew what I liked, but as a woman running an apparel company, I was also very much in tune with what consumers are looking for, and particularly, what women want.”

Creating the furniture collection, she says, has been both a labor of love and a hands-on process. Unlike many of collections today that carry a celebrity brand name, “I come from both an art background and an haute couture background,” Miller notes. “I’m a designer who’s actually a designer. That’s really important, because I think there are a lot of designers out there today who are not really designers; they’re just promoters, marketers. They’ve never been in the back rooms draping and cutting patterns, working with colors, painting and drawing. I can trace, drape, and cut any pattern myself, and I think that’s been a large part of my success.”

Of course, there were differences in the design processes. “It takes a lot longer to get a piece of furniture made,” Miller admits with a laugh. “I can turn a dress around in a day, but designing furniture is a long, long process. It was almost a year before we saw the first samples. Even so, I got really excited about the fabrics and the woods and the shapes. I really believe I’ve got the greatest job in the world. Every day is like walking into a candy store. I walk into this studio and it’s filled with color and fabric swatches and it’s always very exciting. I’m turned on by new designs, new ideas, and concepts, and I guess the more you do something, the easier it becomes. When I was younger it was much harder for me to come up with good ideas, but now, I feel as though I’m really hitting my stride.”

Metro Sectional from the Nicole Miller Collection.

As prolific as she is these days, Miller’s design aesthetic has never wavered. “My design aesthetic is very subtle; it’s not garish or loud,” she explains. “There are lots of things out there today that are just screaming for attention, lots of kitschy stuff with big buttons or gaudy colors. Everything I do, from my furniture to my clothing, makes a much more subtle statement. My details are much more delicate. I believe in really pure aesthetics. I don’t like asymmetrical things as a rule. I don’t like asymmetrical shoes, for instance, or one-shoulder dresses.”

What she does like is to relax with her family in their Tribeca loft, where the favorite spot to kick back is the entertainment room. “I’ve always responded to the ‘50s, the mid-century modern designs,” Miller describes. “I like things that are not too cluttered, and the longer you’re married, the more you just accumulate stuff. I have a Charlotte Perriand shelf to hold all the pictures and vintage knick-knacks, an Eames couch, and two very comfy Warren McArthur chairs that I completely refurbished in leather. The space is set up like a little theater. It’s very cozy and we all like to hang out there. I like rooms that make you feel like you really belong.”

As a rule, the designer says, “I gravitate toward clean lines. I don’t like things that are too busy or ornate. You don’t see that in my clothing, you don’t see that in my furniture, and you don’t see that in my house. I think you have to rely on your gut instincts and what you really like so my furniture collection is very clean and direct. It’s modern and contemporary with very subtle art deco overtones. There are a lot of great pieces with a direct correlation to fashion and I’ve loved creating them!”

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