Nicole Baker is an independent designer in New York City. The Vision Train houses projects, processes, and inspiration that feed into her design aesthetic.

For many years, Nicole has been a visionary able to formulate grand ideas and bring them to life. She honed her visual talents through editorial experiences at Freight + Volume Art Gallery and Guardian UK and in corporate corridors as a management consultant to Fortune 100 companies, putting structure to her imagination.

In 2008, she formed her own business, launched an online magazine and began a personal styling service. Her styling progressed to design, a return to her first passion.

Today, in this design realm, she calls upon long ingrained methods of artful presentation, beauty, and impression cultivated under the tutelage of an architect father and idyllic mother. Costumes from classical ballet theatre and vintage fashions from the 1930’s and 1940’s continue to inspire her designs.

Nicole has a very clear point of view about design. She believes in garments that are one of a kind. She believes in well-fitted garments, tailored to each person’s figure. And she believes in the refinement of forgotten times, when ladies dressed up to go everywhere.

Nicole brings these principles to her business designing custom and ready-to-wear outerwear. A coat holds such opportunity to bring beauty to a client’s life each time the fabric envelops her. It is her entrance and it is her exit.

For custom work, Nicole calls upon a century-old method of custom design, when tailors were invited into the home, providing a unique service to those who, too, believe in the beauty and value of a handcrafted piece.

As each client is an individual, so also will no two coats be alike. Each client presents a new design challenge requiring her to use her hands in new ways, and she often uses vintage accoutrements to create works of art for them.

The Process

To build a custom made coat, Nicole begins the process with a client consultation. The dialogue is to understand what will be most flattering on a client. She discovers the client’s current wardrobe and preferences, including season and time of day in which the coat will be worn, color palette, shape, degree of impression she wishes to make, any factors that may influence design. Or sometimes not at all, allowing Nicole carte blanche.

Next, Nicole sources elegant fabrics and classic trimmings, uncovering one of a kind items that are the foundation of the piece. She begins sketches and presents them to the client along with fabric recommendations. Each design is drawn to augment a client’s best features, complementing her personality. Measurements are taken.

Muslin, a loosely woven cotton, is used to construct the first draft of the garment and is fitted on the client. This stage in the process allows for fit or design changes prior to cutting into the final fabrics.

Then, the beauty of the garment comes to life, as the client’s personalized piece is sewn. It is not shipped overseas but sewn in New York City by master seamstresses.

Once the coat is completed, the client receives her newly designed, custom fitted, and one of a kind piece to bring beauty to each day as she pleases.

To schedule a design consultation or speak more about your artistic wishes, contact nicole@thevisiontrain.com or call 917.776.9546.